Picture Credit: Twitter
Ravichandran Ashwin is finally playing an ODI game after a long gap of 4 years. And the off-spinner has been right on the money from the very first over he has bowled. Ashwin was brought into the attack in the 12th over of South Africa's innings and he produced a chance on the 3rd delivery of the over. However, Shreyas Iyer could not hold on to the catch and Quinton de Kock got a reprieve.
But it did not keep Ashwin away from bowling tight lines. The veteran off-spinner continued to impress with his bowling skills and got his first scalp really quickly. Continuing in a fine spell, Ashwin finally got his first wicket in One-day internationals as he removed Quinton de Kock on the first delivery of his third over, This time he did not need anyone to aid him as he cleaned up the batsman with really good delivery.
Ashwin bowled de Kock with an undercutter while bowling from around the wicket. The ball pitched on a good length and sneaked under de Kock's bat while he tried to cut and hit the timber.
Watch Ashwin's first wicket after 4 years here:
Bavuma-van der Dussen keep South Africa afloat
While it was a great moment for R Ashwin who took his first ODI wicket after 4 long years, Jasprit Bumrah also ended his powerplay drought of 925 days. Bumrah gave India an early breakthrough as he removed Janeman Malan in the 5th over of South Africa innings, With this wicket, the Indian pacer managed a wicket in the powerplay after almost 4 years. The last time Bumrah took a wicket in the powerplay was way back in June 2019 when he had removed Martin Guptill in the World Cup semifinal.
Watch the video here:
Meanwhile, South Africa had a slow start to their innings, The Proteas could only manage 39 runs from the first ten overs and also lost a wicket. However, captain Temba Bavuma and van der Dussen have brought the hosts back in the game with a half-century stand. van der Dussen is looking in fine touch as he has raced to 29 off 26 balls at the time of writing the copy. Temba Bavuma, on the other hand, is nearing his 3rd ODI half-century.