India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's sensational bowling performance on Day 3 of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur sparked a meme fest on social media.

Mocking the Pat Cummins-led side for their horrible display against the hosts, netizens had a field day on Twitter.

 

On Saturday, Ravichandran Ashwin went past Australian legend Shane Warne and his former national colleague Harbhajan Singh's tally of five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

Ravichandran Ashwin's feat came on Day 3 of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur, which the Rohit Sharma-led side won emphatically by an essay and 132 runs.

Powered by Rohit Sharma's splendid century (120) and fifties from Ravindra Jadeja (70) and Axar Patel (84), Team India posted 400 runs on the board in reply to Australia's total of 177 in the first innings.

The Kangaroos-led by Pat Cummins, needed another 224 runs for India to bat again. But spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ensured they got bowled out for just 91.

Ravichandran Ashwin was lethal on a Day 3 pitch that aided sharp turn and offered indifferent bounce. He was the one who started the collapse of the Australian batting line-up, dismissing their opener Usman Khawaja in his first over.

Afterward, Ravichandran Ashwin picked up the wickets of David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and Alex Carrey to leave Australia tottering at 6/64.

By sending the above-mentioned Australian batters back to the pavilion, Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 31st fifer in Tests, taking him past Shane Warne and Harbhajan Singh in that list.

Among active cricketers, Ravichandran Ashwin has the second-most five-wicket hauls after England's James Anderson, who sits on top of the charts with 32.

Speaking about the highest number of fifers at home, it was Ravichandran Ashwin's 25th on Indian soil, putting him on an even keel with Anil Kumble.

The Tamil Nadu spinner, however, is behind the Sri Lankan greats Muthiah Muralidaran and Rangana Herath, who have 45 and 26 five-wicket hauls, respectively, at home.

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The fifer against Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium also took the Indian tweaker's tally of scalps in home conditions to 320. With this, he went past another Shane Warne milestone, as his count of wickets at home now stands above the late Australian spinner.

Ravichandran Ashwin's 97 wickets have come against Australia, making him the bowler with the second most wickets in contests against the Kangaroos. With 111 dismissals against the Australians, Anil Kumble occupies the top spot in this segment. Ashwin took over Harbhajan Singh and Nathan Lyon, who have grabbed 95 wickets each.

After leading India to the comprehensive victory, the Chennai-born bowler revealed that he made some changes to his action ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

“I think that person is long gone. However, I did change my action for this series. But it has nothing to do with how Australia prepped up for the series. Every team that goes on tours, we know how difficult it is to start off tours. We're trying to recreate match scenarios as much as possible. Australia would do that like we would do when we go to Australia or England. We would do that too. For me, there are different reasons why I changed my load up. I did that and I'm glad that it just came through well,” Ashwin said.

“Look, it is not just Jadeja alone anymore. Before I go past Jadeja, I must say, he is an invaluable asset. We pretty much played our careers together as spin bowlers for our country and when you start off early, you're a bit young, you're a bit instinctive. You don't realize how important one another is. But over the years, over the four or five years, I have realized how much of an asset he is to the team and how important he is to me as a bowler as well. He gives nothing away. He allows me to experiment a bit more. Be a bit more creative. Which is my natural self. The way he is batting is phenomenal. Can't leave Axar too far behind. But I think we're extremely lucky to have three spinners who can bat,” the veteran of 89 Tests concluded.

Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins credited Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's spectacular show with the ball for India's triumph during the weekend.

“It was tough out there and the bowlers were fresh. Here in India, you have got to be able to bat big to post a score and give bowlers some rest. It’s disappointing and we weren’t quite up to it,” Pat Cummins said after his side's defeat in Nagpur.

“There are a couple of things. I thought Jadeja bowled really well. We are talking about two of their all-time great spinners in their own conditions. So, it’s always tough for Aussie spinners, growing up on different wickets, to replicate them,” he stated.

“Don’t think there was any surprise out there and we knew what we were going to expect. At times, you have got to be a little bit brave and proactive to put the pressure back on the bowlers. It’s easier said than done as they are world class performers,” the Australian skipper added.