‘Armaan pura karne ka yahi mauka hai’ – Rishabh Pant asks Ravi Ashwin to bowl leg-spin in India’s T20 WC warm-up game against England

Ravi Ashwin has made his comeback to India’s limited-overs setup after a long gap of four years. The veteran was a part of India’s warm-up match against England on Monday, October 18 at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. The Men in Blue won the game by seven wickets and while the batters grabbed the limelight, Ashwin managed to do his job with a lot of precision.

The Tamil Nadu-born couldn’t pick up a wicket, but he was India’s most economical bowler with an economy rate of 5.75, the best among his teammates. In four overs, he gave away only 23 runs and never allowed the Three Lions’ batters to take him apart. In the meantime, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant had some words to say to Ashwin during the Brits’ innings.

Pant motivates Ravi Ashwin

As a variation, Ashwin bowls leg-spin to bamboozle batters. At the start of the 11th over when Jonny Bairstow was on strike, Pant asked the tweaker to bowl a leggie. Pant said that it was the right time for him to show his guile with the ball in hand.

“Armaan pura karne ka yahi mauka hai. Leg spin karne ka. Mauka bhi hai, dastoor bhi hai,” Pant was heard saying from behind the stumps. However, Ashwin bowled a half-tracker and Bairstow pulled the ball away to the mid-wicket fielder for a single.

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— pant shirt fc (@pant_fc) October 18, 2021

On the personal front, Pant had a decent day in the office. The left-handed batter stayed unbeaten on 29 off 14 balls with the help of one four and three sixes. The youngster played at a strike rate of 207.14, helping his team track down the target of 189 with one over to spare.

For India, Ishan Kishan stole the limelight as he notched 70 off 46 balls with seven fours and three sixes. KL Rahul also carried forward his form from the IPL, scoring a 24-ball 51 at a strike rate of 212.50.

Mohammed Shami was impressive with the ball as he picked up three wickets, although he conceded 40 runs off four overs. Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar got one wicket apiece. Bhuvneshwar Kumar leaked 54 runs in four overs.