R Ashwin makes it to top Twitter trends, Ishant Sharma doesn't despite 300 Test wickets

As the India vs England 1st Test reaches its last innings, the Indian team are staring at a daunting 420-run total for a win that seems unlikely. After an extremely average showing in the 1st innings by Indian allowed England to put up a massive 578 runs in their first innings (courtesy of Joe Root's 218 off 377), the hosts could not avoid the follow-on by putting up 337 in their first innings. At the end of Day 3, England have added a further 178 runs to take their lead to 420 runs, taking slightly more time to do it than they might've hoped, as the Indian bowlers came back stronger in the 2nd innings. 

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Did Ishant Sharma 300 wickets landmark fail to impress Indian fans?

India's bowling lineup, consisting of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, R Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar faced some flak after Day 3 of the India vs England Test series due to their inability to stop bowling no-balls. However, they seem to have recovered with their performances on Day 4, reaching many personal milestones on the way as well. R Ashwin is once again the standout player of the day.

The experienced spinner charted many a career milestones at his home ground, recording his 28th five-wicket haul after ending the innings with 6-61. He also became the first Indian spinner - and just the third in the world - to take a wicket off the first ball of a Test match when he removed England opener, Rory Burns, for a golden duck at the start of England's second innings. This was the first time in 114 years - since South Africa's Bert Vogler took a first-ball wicket against England in 1907 - that this feat has been achieved. 

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Trending alongside Ashwin was another Chennai local, Washington Sundar. The young spinner has been proving his worth to the Indian side since his surprise debut in Australia, contributing with both bat and ball. In his sole match Down Under, Sundar made a match-winning 62 alongside Shardul Thakur. Playing just his 2nd Test, the 21-year-old is setting himself up as a useful tail ender for India having made a brilliant 85* in India's 1st innings. 

Missing out on all the Twitter action is veteran pacer Ishant Sharma who has also had a milestone outing this match. The 32-year-old picked up 3 wickets in all, to become just the third Indian pacer - after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan - to take 300 Test wickets. Despite this achievement, Sharma seems to have been sidelined on the micro-blogging site. Here are some fan reactions:

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Ravindra Jadeja injury

Sundar has also helped India forget the absence of talented allrounder, Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja picked up an injury during the side's visit to Australia and is sure to miss the first two Tests of the series. In fact even Jadeja made it to the top Twitter trends on Monday alongside Ashwin and Sundar, despite not playing the match at all.

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Image Credits: BCCI Twitter