Ace India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin continued his excellent form in the English County Championship 2019 with a nine-wicket haul in Nottinghamshire's important division 1 game against Kent.
Ashwin followed his four wickets in the first innings with a special five-fer in the second to take his tally of wickets this county stint to 32 in just four first-class matches, including four five-wicket hauls in seven innings with the best of 12/144 versus Surrey.
Against Kent, Ashwin even struck a valiant half-century but couldn't stop Nottinghamshire from suffering a chastening 227-run defeat. The 32-year-old didn't get a game in the Caribbean recently but will be hoping to stamp his authority during the home Test series against South Africa next month.
Meanwhile, out-of-favour India opener Murali Vijay didn't start off the stint with his new county team Somerset on a good note. The 35-year-old right-hand batsman, who last played a Test for India in December 2018, made 7 & 0 on debut. Though, Somerset still ramped home over Yorkshire by 298 runs in division 1.