Almost a month before the much-anticipated five-Test series against England, Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday picked up a five-wicket haul for Surrey in the County Championship match against Somerset at the Kia Oval in London, thus sending warning signs for England.
Starting off with the new ball for Surrey in the second innings as well, Ashwin picked all his five wickets in just the 13 overs he bowled before lunch. He returned with figures of 5 for 23.
He dismissed Steven Davies (7), Tom Lammonby (3), James Hilderth (14), Goerge Bartlett (12) and Roelof van der Merwe (7) in the second innings as Somerset crumbled to 60 for 7, with a lead at 249.
Earlier in the first innings, Ashwin had picked one wicket in the 42 overs he bowled, conceding 96 runs, which included nine maidens.
Delhi Capitals, the Indian Premier League franchise that Ashwin represents, even shared one of those five wickets on Twitter with the capation, "CAUTION: Master at work Just one of @ashwinravi99 wickets in the 2nd innings so far #CountyCricket2021."
The five-Test series between India and England will commence from August 4 at Trent Bridge. The Test side are presently on a break after their World Test Championship final, where they had lost to New Zealand in Southampton last month. The players will play a warm-up game ahead of the Test series.
