IND vs ENG | Twitter reacts to Ashwin adding 'penguin' variation to ever-expanding arsenal

‌England made a match of what seemed like a foregone conclusion on Days 3 and 4 of the first Test against India on the back of a phenomenal Ollie Pope 196 in Hyderabad to set the hosts a target of 231. The top-order batter dominated the lethal spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel on a tricky deck like few other batters have managed over the past decade. He took to the crease on Sunday with an overnight score of 148 and had already added 15 runs to his tally when Ravichandran Ashwin was handed the ball for his first spell of the day in the 81st over. With the 26-year-old seemingly looking indomitable, the veteran resorted to unusual tricks in an attempt to pry out the prize wicket.

Ashwin started his over with an innocous delivery down leg that was left alone by Pope. The off-spinner then responded by raising both legs to his hamstring alternatively in a weird run-up, like some vague crossover between a penguin and a kangaroo, and stopped for a brief moment before his delivery action to deliver a slightly quicker straighter one. However, an unfazed Pope confidently pushed the ball away and eventually succumbed to Jasprit Bumrah 17 overs later with the visitors needing a final hurrah after having lost nine wickets in the innings.

Twitterati as always was amused by Ashwin's constant search for new ways to trick batters and took to social media to dissect the latest developments in the veteran's arsenal.

Meet Mr. R Penguin Ashwin

Dismantled

impressive

Good stratergy

Scientist

Take a bow

Ashwin in a league of his own!

Still 6 wickets

Pumped up

True