WATCH: Ravichandran Ashwin derives huge turn to deceive Paul Collingwood in County match

Of late, India have been virtually unbeatable in the Test format and much of the credit goes to Ravichandran Ashwin and his spin partner, Ravindra Jadeja as the duo spun webs around the opposition batting to establish India as the top-ranked Test side of the world. But much of their success came on the spin-friendly wickets of the sub-continent, which robbed some of the sheen from their efforts. However, to get himself used to the English conditions ahead of the Test series in England next year and the World Cup the following year, Ashwin moved to Worcestershire to play county cricket and it appears that it is reaping rich dividends.

Yesterday, on the Day 2 of Worcestershire’s match against Durham, Ashwin deceived former England skipper Paul Collingwood with a peach of a delivery to hand the initiative to the hosts. Ashwin didn’t try to experiment with the ball and instead decided to bowl his stock ball – the off-spinner – that after pitching on the full-length area. The ball nipped in towards the batsman at an angle that would have made the Wankhede pitch proud. Such was the amount of turn that even before Collingwood decided to do anything, the ball hit his stumps and he was dismissed for 27. 

Earlier, on the day, Ashwin hit a delightful 82, in the company of Ed Barnard, who added 75 runs helping the hosts get to a competitive total of 335 runs. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder’s effort means that Worcestershire will go into day three needing just three points to clinch promotion back to Division One of the County Championship and if the match situation is anything to go by, it seems most likely outcome.