It took just 17 balls for Ravichandran Ashwin to strike with the ball in the first Test against West Indies, in Dominica, and remind India what a big miss he was in the WTC Final 2023 against Australia. And he did it in some style, ripping up the off-stump of left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul; Australia had four left-handers in their top 7, against whom Ashwin would have been a potent threat.
India and West Indies kick-started their WTC 2023/25 cycle in Dominica. West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and elected to field first.
Even though West Indies have dominated their home Tests in recent years because of their pace bowlers, Dominica is one of the most spin-friendly venues in West Indies. India had no doubts this time about playing R Ashwin.
West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul were cautious and solid in their start as they saw off the opening spells of pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat.
R Ashwin came on as a first-change bowler. He conceded a boundary in his first over to Brathwaite but returned with a maiden next over. In this third, R Ashwin bowled a beauty to dismiss left-hander Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who is the son of legendary batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Interestingly, R Ashwin had also dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul on his debut Test series back in 2011.
R Ashwin becomes the first Indian bowler to dismiss a father-son pair
To Tagenarine, from around the wicket angle, R Ashwin flighted the ball up nicely. It pitched on full length on off-stump and middle. The left-hander played a defensive shot, but the ball turned just slightly enough to beat the outside edge of the bat, but not enough to miss the stumps. The bails were tossed up as the ball hit the off-stump and the Indians were cock-a-hoop.
Here, watch: R Ashwin bowls a magical ball to bowl Tagenarine Chanderpaul
The moment Ravi Ashwin created history!
The first Indian to pick the wicket of father (Shivnarine) and son (Tagenarine) in Tests. pic.twitter.com/nvqXhLz0ze
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 12, 2023
