OTD | Ravichandran Ashwin took career-best innings figures of 7 for 59 against New Zealand in 2016

Ravichandran Ashwin has been a prolific player for India in Tests for a long time now. In 2016 he went on to take his career-best figures in Test cricket against New Zealand in Indore. In both innings of the Test match, he played well and claimed six wickets in the first innings and went on to take seven wickets in the 2nd innings. India went on to win the match by 321 runs against the Kiwis. 

In the first innings, India batted first and scored 557 runs. They declared the innings at the correct time giving New Zealand to bat. Virat Kohli, who was the skipper at that time, scored 211 runs off 366 balls including 20 boundaries while Ajinkya Rahane scored 188 runs in 381 balls including 18 boundaries and six sixes. 

Both batters played beautifully and left the New Zealand bowlers clueless. Trent Boult and Jeetan Patel took two wickets each for the Kiwis. Mitchell Santner took one wicket. Matt Henry and James Neesham were wicketless in the innings. 

When New Zealand came to bat, they scored 299 runs thanks to Martin Guptill, Tom Latham and James Neesham’s half-centuries. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja together claimed eight wickets. The spinners finished the batting attack of New Zealand as most of the players couldn’t play spin. In the 2nd innings, India scored 216 runs thanks to Pujara’s 101 runs in 148 balls and Gautam Gambhir’s 50 runs off 56 balls. 

New Zealand got the target of 475 runs which they failed to score and were all out in just 153 runs. No batter touched the 40-run mark as Ashwin claimed seven wickets while Jadeja took two wickets. Even Umesh Yadav took one wicket and contributed to India’s win. 

Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.