Ravichandran Ashwin Drops Six Points, Tied With James Anderson As No. 1 Test Bowler

08.03.2023 - 18:07 sports.ndtv.com

Premier India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin lost six rating points but still remained joint number one Test bowler with England quick James Anderson in the ICC rankings released on Wednesday.

Ashwin, who surged to No. 1 in Test bowling rankings last week, took just four wickets in the two innings in the third Test against Australia in Indore.

Australia won the match by nine wickets to secure their first victory on Indian soil since 2017. It meant it's now a tie at the top with both Ashwin and Anderson occupying the pole position with 859 points each.

The battle to become the top Test bowler in the world has also heated up with Australian captain Pat Cummins and South African speed gun Kagiso Rabada and spinner Nathan Lyon in striking distance.

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is just days away and all the teams have started their camps. The same goes for IPL 2022 runners-up Rajasthan Royals, who lost last year's final to Gujarat Titans. All the top players have already assembled in Jaipur. In a recent video posted by Rajasthan Royals on their social media handles, fans at the Sawaiman Singh Stadium could be singing "Jhalak Dikhla Ja. Ekbar Aaja Aaja"- a popular Hindi song composed and sung by Himesh Reshammiya - for star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Watch: Rajasthan Royals Fans Sing Jhalak Dikhla Ja For Ravichandran Ashwin. Star Quips This

"That's All An Eyewash": Ravichandran Ashwin Tears Apart Critics Of Indian Batting, Pitches

India's rare ODI series loss at home, their first in four years, has led to wide-spread doubts over the Rohit Sharma-led team's preparedness for the ODI World Cup at home later this year. India lost the series against Australia 2-1 despite winning the first ODI. India have not won an ICC Trophy since 2013, and the series loss to Australia has started murmurs regarding on whether India's approach is right or not. Commenting on India's batting approach, star India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made some interesting points.

"Proper Statement": Ravichandran Ashwin's Honest Take On Hardik Pandya's Test Return Comments

Indian cricket team spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was all praise for teammate Hardik Pandya after he ruled himself out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia and asked the team management to consider other talents for the match. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ashwin emphasised on the fact that it is rare to see a player of Pandya's stature accept that he is not ready to play Test cricket and he lauded his teammate for setting a “proper statement for the cricketing fraternity”. Pandya played his last Test match way back in August 2018.

On Security Of His Twitter Account, Ravichandran Ashwin Writes To Elon Musk

One of the chief architects of India's 2-1 series triumph over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ravichandran Ashwin isn't just a tricky bowler to face on the field but also a popular personality on social media. Time and again, Ashwin has entertained his fans through his Twitter account but he is facing a 'security concern' with the micro-blogging app at present. On Wednesday, Ashwin took to Twitter and wrote to Elon Musk, the owner of the portal, on steps to secure his profile.

Ravichandran Ashwin's Hilarious Reaction To Cheteshwar Pujara's Bowling Leaves Everyone In Splits

It was a rare sight on Monday as Cheteshwar Pujara was introduced into the bowling attack by India skipper Rohit Sharma. It was the final overs on Day 5 of the fourth Test match in Ahmedabad and the match was clearly headed towards a draw. Pujara bowled a tidy over and ended up conceding just one run which was lauded by the commentators. Pujara had a clean bowling action and former Indian cricket team skipper Sunil Gavaskar remarked on commentary that his bowling style even resembled the Australia great Shane Warne. Ravichandran Ashwin also had a brilliant reaction to his bowling.