Published 20:14 IST, December 2nd 2019
WATCH: Ravichandran Ashwin emulates Imran Tahir's trademark celebration
Ravichandran Ashwin had pulled off Imran Tahir's trademark celebration when he sprinted after picking up wickets in two balls in the final against Karnataka
Ravichandran Ashwin has had an eventful year. The infamous 'Mankading' incident at the IPL earlier this year, followed by a remarkable home Test series against South Africa and Bangladesh which had also marked his return to Test cricket since December 2018. Meanwhile, in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday, Ashwin was involved in a lot of excitement as well.
Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates like Imran Tahir
Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and asked Karnataka to bat first in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali which was played in Surat on Sunday. Karnataka openers KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal had got their team off to a brisk start and when Ravichandran Ashwin came in to bowl the 4th over, he was dispatched into the stands by Rahul. Nonetheless, the veteran spinner got his revenge on the very next delivery after he tempted Rahul to attempt the same shot and he was caught at the boundary. On the following delivery, Mayank Agarwal was caught and bowled by Ashwin for a golden duck after which there was no stopping the offie as he turned sprinter and celebrated in Imran Tahir style. The video of Ashwin imitating Imran Tahir was posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Ashwin's early celebration backfires
During the nerve-wracking final over of the summit clash, Ravichandran Ashwin was in the limelight as he had already started celebrating in the last over after hitting two fours off the first two deliveries. To be crowned as the champions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Tamil Nadu required 13 runs in the final over of the innings and Ashwin was on strike. When the equation came down to five off four balls, Ashwin thought that he had almost sealed the game and celebrated with a fist pump by letting out a roar. The next ball that Gowtham bowled was a dot, which was followed by a single. On the penultimate delivery, Vijay Shankar, who was batting beautifully until then, got run out in order to steal a second run. Now 3 runs were needed of the final delivery and Murugan Ashwin was on strike but he could only pick up a leg bye. Tamil Nadu fell short of the target by just one run.Ravichandran Ashwin was trolled on Twitter for celebrating a little too early just like Mushfiqur Rahim had done against India in the World T20 2016. The latter had celebrated then in front of Hardik Pandya in the last over after hitting two fours and then Bangladesh ended up losing the game. The same happened with Ashwin and the Twitterati roasted him for it.
Updated 22:24 IST, December 2nd 2019