WATCH | R Ashwin Has Special Gift for Daughter's Day as Wife Prithi Congratulates Spinner for Hundred and Fifer

Ravichandran Ashwin starred with his all-round performance to help India take a 1-0 lead with a 280-run thrashing of Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.

Following his impressive hundred on the first day of the Test that rescued India from a dire 144/6 in the first innings, the off-spinner picked up a six-wicket haul on the fourth day to spin his side a mammoth 280-run win against the visitors.

After the match, the 38-year-old was congratulated by his family – wife Prithi Narayanan and daughters Akhira and Aadhya.

When Prithi asked Ashwin, “Well, the kids want to know what you give them for daughter’s day”, the spinner answered: “I give them the ball that I picked up the fifer.”

Ashwin’s daughters denied the offer almost immediately.

On being asked by their father what they wanted instead, they were unsure.

Ashwin then told Prithi how he felt after the match: “Actually, I don’t know how to react because the first day was something that happened very quickly. I didn’t expect to walk in here and get a hundred. I hadn’t batted for a while, so that feels great. Every time I come here, it feels special. I don’t know, there is some energy in this ground. I think that gets me going.”

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With his 6-88, Ashwin touched the 750 international wickets mark, becoming only the fourth spinner to achieve this feat after Muthiah Muralidaran, Shane Warne, and Anil Kumble.

This was also Ashwin’s 37th Test five-wicket haul in an innings, taking him second on that list alongside Shane Warne (37) and behind Muttiah Muralidaran (67).

The off-spinner, who climbed to the eighth spot of the all-time leading Test wicket-takers, going past Courtney Walsh’s 519, now has 522 Test wickets to his name.

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When India found themselves in trouble at 144/6, Ashwin stitched a vital 199-run partnership with fellow spin bowling allrounder Ravindra Jadeja (86), helping India recover, and took a first-inning total to 376. Then, the spin duo then joined hands to wreak havoc on Bangladesh batters on the fourth day of the Test, sharing nine wickets between them.