Anurag Verma News18.com

Updated on: July 21, 2019, 11:27 AM IST

July 21, 2019, 11:27 AM IST FOLLOW US ON: Facebook Twitter Instagram

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has a new trick up his sleeve every time he takes the cricket field. Friday was no different when Ashwin led the Dindigul Dragons against Chepauk Super Gillies in the season-opener T20 match in Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).

The incident took place on the fourth delivery in the last over of the match with Chepauk Super Gillies still needing 17 runs off 2 deliveries with only a wicket in hand.


Sensing that CSG were done and dusted, Ashwin came up with a unique idea and produced a strange action ball - one that left the watchers very, very confused.

Ashwin delivered the ball without a full action, while his non-bowling arm remained unmoved, and he completed the run-up by releasing the white on the wrong foot (left foot).


His unpredictable delivery did not cause any damage to the chasing team but it certainly did catch the attention of bemused social media users.


Batting first, Ashwin promoted himself to the third spot and played an innings that made the difference between the two teams. He scored a brisk 19-ball 37 that included five boundaries and a maximum.

Chasing Dindigul Dragons' modest score of 115/9, Chepauk Super Gillies received early blows, losing both their openers for a duck each.

M Silambarasan starred with the ball, picking up four wickets in four overs and CSG fell 10 runs short of the victory line.

This, however, isn't the first time in 2019 that Ashwin has managed to surprise the cricket fans.

A few months ago, during a Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals encounter in the IPL tournament, Ashwin had left the cricket fraternity fuming after the Punjab captain dismissed Royals' batsman Jos Buttler by 'Mankading' him.

Ashwin, on noticing that Buttler was backing up too far, paused during his action and removed the bails from the non-strikers' end. Buttler was left bemused and angry. The on-field umpire went upstairs and ‘Out’ signal flashed on the big screen. Buttler went back for 69.

The sight of Ashwin doing a 'Mankad' on the field didn't sit down well with cricketers and fans who termed it "unprofessional," "ugly," and against the spirit of the game. They came out in numbers on Twitter expressing their displeasure over the unique dismissal.