Rajasthan Royals experimented with the batting line-up after R Ashwin was sent up at number three. The Royals had lost an early wicket after Jos Buttler was sent back to the dugout by Chetan Sakariya for 7 off 11.
Ashwin then walked out in the middle and joined Yashasvi Jaiswal. The two batters tried to steady the ship and stitched a stand of 43 runs for the second wicket before Jaiswal was caught by Lalit Yadav off Mitchell Marsh for 19 that came in 19 deliveries.
But Ashwin showed his class with the bat and held the fort at one end. He, along with Devdutt Padikkal, put up a good show as the two scored 53 runs for the third wicket. While Ashwin batted in a steady manner, the right-hander didn't shy away from putting away the bad deliveries to the boundary.
He notched up 50 off 38, a knock that included 4 fours and a couple of maximums before getting out to Marsh after being caught by David Warner. This is Ashwin's first fifty in T20 cricket.
Talking about the standings, the Royals are presently sitting at number three with 14 points under their belt from 11 matches while Delhi Capitals, on the other side, have 10 points in 11 games.
Ravichandran Ashwin has reached several milestones in his T20 career with a ball in hand but on Wednesday it was time for Ashwin the batter to come to the fore. The off spinner's move to Rajasthan Royals has led to the birth of Ashwin the top order batter as the Royals have used him at teh number 3 position. Ashwin paid his team back on Wednesday by scoring a half-century, in what was an entertaining knock as he hit 2 sixes and 4 fours to reach his fifty in just 37 balls.
This was special landmark for Ashwin as it was his first ever fifty in T20 cricket, surpassing his previous best of 46 runs.
Ashwin came out to bat at the fall of Jos Buttler's wicket with Royals at 11/1 in the third over against Delhi Capitals. Ashwin mixed caution with aggression to stitch together a 43-run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Jaiswal was dismissed for 19 but Ashwin carried on and played some handsome shots, including a straight six off Kuldeep Yadav and an audacious ramp shot off Chetan Sakariya. That ramp shot also brought up his 50-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal.
Ashwin reached his fifty in the 14th over and was dismissed almost immediately for 50 by Mitchell Marsh.
Ashwin had earlier created headlines by retiring out and allowing Riyan Parag to come in and hit some lusty blows.
Ravichandran Ashwin Profile
The Indian T20 League has become a staple source of the two things that Indians keep very close to their heart - Cricket and Bollywood. It is this unique combination that has been working out for the League to flourish in India and all over the world for the past decade or so. This has also helped up and coming youngsters to perform for their team, thus paving them a way to their International career which will be representing India on the global stage. One of the players who has successfully milked this opportunity clean is Ravichandran Ashwin or "Ash" as he is called affectionately by this teammates.
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