Watch: Ravichandran Ashwin got the big wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in the space of three deliveries to put Australia on the back foot on day one of the second Test at Delhi.
Labuschagne, who walked out after the dismissal of David Warner, started off aggressively, scoring 18 runs from his first 24 deliveries before falling to Ashwin. The India spinner sent down a delivery that drifted away before spinning back into Labuschagne. The batter, who was looking to gently push the ball away, was struck in front of middle stump as the India fielders went up in appeal.
The on-field umpire Nitin Menon had to change his original ‘not out’ call with ball tracking showing three red lights. It was Ashwin’s 700th first-class wicket.
He did not have to wait much longer for his 701st, dismissing Smith two deliveries later. The last ball of the 23rd over was similar in line to the Labuschagne dismissal, but instead of spinning into the batter, it held its line with the angle, before taking a slight outside edge off Smith’s bat. This was the seventh time Smith has been dismissed by Ashwin in Tests.
Watch Ashwin’s twin scalps here:
Marnus Labuschagne ✅
Steve Smith ✅@ashwinravi99 gets 2⃣ big wickets in one over 💪💥#TeamIndia #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/UwSIxep8q2— BCCI (@BCCI) February 17, 2023
