IND vs AUS: Ravichandran Ashwin achieves peculiar feat with Steve Smith's dismissal on Day 1 of Delhi Test

Day 1 of the second Test between India and Australia turned out to be eventful for both sides. The Aussies were able to notch up a score of 263 at the end of their first innings. Opener Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb played impressive knocks to help Australia put up a decent score on the board.

After his decent performance in the first Test, former skipper Steve Smith once again failed to perform big against team India in the second Test as well. He scored 37 and 25* runs in the two innings in the Nagpur Test, and once again he was unable to show up for Australia as he was dismissed for a duck by veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. 

In an interval of three deliveries, Ashwin dismissed both Marnus Labuschagne and Smith. Interestingly, the 36-year-old became the first bowler to dismiss Smith for a duck twice in Test cricket. Ashwin dismissed Smith on a duck back when Australia and India faced each other in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 2020.

Ashwin trapped Marnus Labuschagne after the ball hit the pad, but the umpire called it not out. However, the 36-year-old convinced skipper Rohit Sharma to make a DRS call and the decision got overturned, and Labuschagne was dismissed. Ashwin then trapped Steve Smith, and a smart catch from KS Bharat saw him walking back to the pavilion.

Ashwin stepping up to the task

There is no doubt that Ashwin has been one of India’s best bowlers in recent years, especially in red-ball cricket. The 36-year-old has been in sensational form as he completed his fifer in the first Test against Australia and took three wickets in the first innings of the second Test as well.

After Australia scored 263 in their first innings, India scored 21 runs without losing a wicket at the end of Day 1. They will be looking to build on that on Day 2 of the match.