India’s premier off-spinner R Ashwin has initiated his County career on a decent note. While playing for Worcestershire, he managed to finish the first innings with the spell of 3/94.

Ashwin was ‘rested’ from the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka which has been already won by Team India and that’s why he got the chance to play in County circuit for Worcestershire.

Ever since Cheteshwar Pujara has able to change his game by playing for Nottinghamshire, the trend has been set. However, the Indian spinner is only the second Indian player of the current squad to play in County Championship.

Indian spinner bowled 29 overs in the first innings and he troubled the batsmen quite often and got 3 wickets conceding just 94 runs. He first dismissed Roderick caught and bowled and then went on to dismiss Barnett and Miles to restrict Gloucestershire and helped his team to take a crucial lead of 105 runs. He also scored a gritty 36 runs while batting at No. 6 and displayed his all-around ability. Ashwin is expected to play a huge role in the second innings as well as his team will look to win the game.

Describing the experience while talking to ESPNcricinfo, Ashwin said, “It’s always been a dream to play county cricket. I grew up watching it on TV in India and it has always meant a lot. Spinners have come before and told me it is a must-do experience. I was being rested from a series [against Sri Lanka], so I thought I might as well come here to get experience.”

Here is the video of Ashwin picking wickets for Worcestershire:

India spinner @ashwinravi99 takes 3/94 on his County Champ debut for @WorcsCCC… pic.twitter.com/rW96IBcxNj

— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) August 29, 2017