Team India were under the pump in the first Test against England after getting bundled out for 337 in their first innings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Joe Root and Co, who piled up a mountain of 578 runs while batting first, earned a substantial 241-run lead and were placed on the driver’s seat. Although the visitors had the option of enforcing a follow on, they decided to bat and got off to a terrible start. Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin spun his web and dismissed England opener Rory Burns in the first ball of the innings. With this scalp, the 34-year-old broke over a 100-year-old record. Ishant Sharma Becomes Third Indian Pacer to Take 300 Test Wickets.

The Chennai-born bowler became the first spinner in 114 years to get a wicket off the first ball of an innings. South Africa’s Bert Vogler was the last one to do so way back in 1907. The first spinner ever to pick up a wicket off the first ball of an innings was former England bowler Bobby Peel in 1888. Hence, Ashwin is only the third player in history to get the milestone. Washington Sundar Joins Sourav Ganguly & Suresh Raina in Unique List After Scoring Unbeaten Half-Century.

However, the talismanic spinner has no time to celebrate his feat as India are way behind in the on-going Chennai Test. With the track deteriorating with time, the Three Lions would like to set a daunting target for the home side. On the other hand, Team India would like to wrap up the visitors’ innings as soon as possible to stay alive in the contest.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2021 02:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).