VIDEO | Batsman throws his wicket away as R Ashwin fools him with 'Sohail Tanvir' delivery

07/23/2019

Time and again, Ravichandran Ashwin has amused both viewers and opponents with his bag of tricks, often leaving everyone in awe of his skillset. In a TNPL match on Monday, he deceived the batsman with an outrageous 'Sohail Tanvir' delivery, forcing the batsman into throwing his wicket away.

Indian "off-spinner" Ravichandran Ashwin has never been short of a trick. Be it the "carrom-ball", or bowling leg-spin, or intentionally wearing full-sleeves to utilize the bend of his elbow to the maximum extent possible, or even mankading, Ashwin has always kept both the viewers and his opponents on their toes - literally.

In the first TNPL match of this season on Friday, Ashwin pulled out an unusual delivery - a delivery with no pace, jump, arm extension or followthrough. And to top of all this, he landed on his wrong foot after bowling the delivery, something which former Pakistani pacer Sohail Tanvir is famous for. The delivery visibly confused everyone on and off the field but ultimately did no damage as the batsman safely negotiated it.

However, that changed on Monday. Playing for Dindigul Dragons against Madurai Panthers, Ashwin came to bowl the last over and had 32 runs in his bag to defend. After just conceding one run off the first four deliveries, the scenario was down to 31 needed off two balls, and that's when Ashwin decided that it was show-time.

Ashwin hid the delivery from the batsman as he walked in to deliver the penultimate ball, and as the batsman was expecting a regulation off-spinner, Ashwin pulled the trigger. Just after crossing the Umpire, Ashwin almost stopped, and delivered an extremely loopy delivery with no jump, arm-extension or followthrough, and landed on his wrong (left) foot.

Bewildered by the loop and lack of pace in the delivery, the batsman's eyes lit up instantly, and he decided to thwack the ball out of the ground. However, to his dismay, he only managed to find the fielder at long-on, handing Ashwin a wicket off his bizarre "Sohail Tanvir" delivery. One could probably argue that this is the most bizarre delivery to have ever accounted for a dismissal.