Published: Jul 12, 2021, 04:31 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 12, 2021, 04:31 PM (IST)
London: Ravichandran Ashwin made the headlines on Sunday after becoming the first spinner to open the bowling in 11 years in County Championship. To add to that, the India off-spinner gave his team the much-needed breakthrough after Tom Lammonby and Somerset skipper James Hildreth had stitched a 106-run stand for the third wicket. After going wicketless in his first spell, Ashwin came back strongly and got rid of Lammonby. The Somerset batsman played for the turn which was not there as he shouldered arms and the ball just about straightened a bit after pitching and knocked the off-stump out of the ground.
👀 Don’t leave those.
WATCH LIVE ⏩ https://t.co/0WriMzkGx9 pic.twitter.com/nbJ6zvMyyx
Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) July 11, 2021
Ashwin will join the Indian squad right after this match to start preparing for the five-match Test series against England. Having played for Worcestershire in 2017 and Nottinghamshire County in the 2019 edition, the India off-spinner is not new to the county circuit. This stint with Surrey would be his third and might give him the much-needed game time ahead of the Test series scheduled to start in the first week of August.
☝ WICKET
Ravi Ashwin’s first wicket for Surrey!
He bowls Lammonby for 42.
Somerset – 113/3 pic.twitter.com/flP205B2Uu
Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) July 11, 2021
Devon Conway and Steven Davies opened the batting for Somerset after Hildreth opted to bat. Ashwin, who replaced injured Kyle Jamieson in the playing XI, kept things tight after opening the bowling and seemed to have got better as the day progressed. The 34-year-old Indian would look to pick up a few more in the innings on the second day.
