R Ashwin ki ‘pawri ho rahi hai’, 100 runs and pushing at Chepauk

Ravichandran Ashwin stood tall and defied all odds to hit his fifth Test hundred as India extended their lead beyond 450 during the third day of the fourth Test against England at Chepauk in Chennai. When other Indian batsmen failed to counter the English spin threat, Ashwin played with utmost perfection and displayed an immaculate level of cricket. As soon as he hit his century, Ashwin “ki pawri ho rahi hai” started trending on social media platforms.

En route to his century, Ashwin hit 15 boundaries and a solitary maximum. Enjoying a strike rate of 76.87, Ashwin played his heart out by negotiating the sharp turns of the ball.

In the list of most hundred and a five-wicket haul in a Test match, Ashwin stands second with three of those. While Ian Botham leads the chart with five times, Gary Sobers, Mushtaq Mohammad, Jacques Kallis and Shakib-Al-Hasan have two times each under their belt.

He is also the second Tamil Nadu player to score a Test century at Chepauk after Kris Srikkanth, who hit 123 against Pakistan in 1986/87.  Also, first 100 for him against a team other than the West Indies.

On the match front, Indian captain Virat Kohli and Ashwin steadied the Indian ship as they countered the English spin troika, building a strong platform for the hosts to register a famous win against the visiting side.