Updated 13:03 IST, December 2nd 2019
When R Ashwin paid tribute to MS Dhoni, Tahir and Mushfiqur in a single game
In an eventful final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for 2019/20, R Ashwin showed a lot of emotion as he celebrated every critical moment of the game. Read on.
The final match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for 2019/20 was as nailbiting as T20s get with Karnataka taking the trophy home as they won narrowly by 1 run. Chasing Karnataka's 180, Tamil Nadu came very close to grabbing the win, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin's heroics with the bat. Although TN lost, Ashwin made headlines once again with his theatrics in which he paid tribute to three top international cricketers at different stages of the game.
R Ashwin does an MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir and Mushfiqur Rahim in one match
While bowling, Ashwin made his impact felt when he took out his India teammates KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal off successive deliveries and took off running in the same manner that South Africa spinner Imran Tahir is renowned to do. Ashwin's emotions were not over yet as he came in to bat at a critical moment when his team needed 30 runs in 17 balls. Ashwin stuck around till the last over as his partner, Vijay Shankar and him struck a flew blows to bring down the equation to 13 in six balls.
As Ashwin took the strike, he pulled off a Dhoni and removed his helmet, just like his ex-captain at CSK does when he faces spinners in critical overs. Ashwin then proceeded to smash two consecutive fours in the first and the second ball, reducing the equation to a meagre 5 runs in 4 balls. Ashwin almost believed that he had won his side of the match and started throwing punches in the air, much like Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim did against India in their World T20 2016 match in Bengaluru. Ashwin's celebration was premature though as Karnataka managed to win the match by a slim margin of a single run. Here is what fans had to say about the intense match.
Published 12:10 IST, December 2nd 2019