Birthday Special: Top five performances by Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin (L) celebrates the wicket of Joe Root with Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the ICC Champions Trophy Final between England and India at Edgbaston on June 23, 2013 in Birmingham, England. (Getty Images)

5. 2/15 and three catches vs. England (Champions Trophy final, Edgbaston, June 2013)

Now, Ashwin isn’t the quickest fielder in the Indian team. You rarely see him effect run-outs from a distance, and he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence with his slow movement. But in the final of the last edition of the Champions Trophy, he produced three vital moments that saw his side put the brakes on England’s scoring, and followed it up by bagging two important wickets as well.

He put in a full-length dive to take a two-handed stunner that sent back captain Alastair Cook off a seaming delivery from Umesh Yadav, leaving England one down with next to nothing on the scorecard.

Wasting no more time, Dhoni brought on the Chennai spinner for the sixth over, and he responded with Jonathan Trott’s wicket – he deceived the batsman with a dipping off-break that went around his legs and beat him in flight, ensuring an easy stumping. Youngster Joe Root was his next victim, falling in trying to advance the score.

But what set him apart on that day was his brilliance in the field. Two catches, both off Ishant Sharma, sent Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara packing after their rapid alliance had reduced the equation to gettable proportions. He also bowled a classy final over, ensuring a narrow five-run win and the trophy for India. In doing so, Ashwin sealed his spot as India’s go-to spinner.