Ravichandran Ashwin endures tough MLC debut despite San Francisco Unicorns' victory
Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finally made his long-awaited Major League Cricket debut for the San Francisco Unicorns, but it proved to be a challenging outing for the 39-year-old as he went wicketless against the Texas Super Kings. Ashwin's appearance was a significant milestone, ma
By Toi Sports Desk
Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finally made his long-awaited Major League Cricket debut for the San Francisco Unicorns, but it proved to be a challenging outing for the 39-year-old as he went wicketless against the Texas Super Kings.
Ashwin's appearance was a significant milestone, making him the first capped India men's international cricketer to feature in Major League Cricket.
The off-spinner had missed the Unicorns' season opener as he continued his recovery from a knee injury that had previously forced him to withdraw from the Big Bash League.Although the San Francisco Unicorns eventually secured a comfortable seven-wicket victory, Ashwin struggled to make an impact with the ball.
He finished with figures of 0/24 from two overs, conceding runs at an economy rate of 12.00.Difficult start for AshwinIntroduced into the attack during the fourth over, Ashwin received a harsh welcome from Texas batter Milind Kumar.
The veteran spinner's first delivery was slog-swept over fine leg for a six, immediately putting him under pressure.
Milind continued the assault later in the over, launching another delivery straight down the ground for a second maximum.Ashwin's opening over yielded 15 runs, with Milind Kumar targeting the spinner's lengths and denying him any opportunity to settle into a rhythm.Rossouw keeps the pressure OnAshwin returned for his second over in the 10th and found little respite.
South African batter Rilee Rossouw rotated the strike effectively before dispatching a short delivery for a boundary down the ground.
Rossouw and Wiaan Mulder ensured there were no wicket-taking opportunities for the off-spinner, collecting singles regularly and preventing Ashwin from building sustained pressure.By the end of his spell, Ashwin had bowled just two overs, conceding 24 runs without a breakthrough.Unicorns overcome Ashwin's expensive spellDespite Ashwin's struggles, the San Francisco Unicorns' bowling attack delivered a disciplined collective performance.
Veteran Australian pacer Peter Siddle led the charge with figures of 3/36, while captain Matthew Short chipped in with two wickets to restrict Texas Super Kings to 152/9 from their 20 overs.The Unicorns then completed the chase comfortably, thanks to an unbeaten 69 from Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who guided the side to a seven-wicket victory with 13 balls remaining.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates.
Download the TOI app.