Birthday Special: Top five performances by Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwincelebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Dinesh Chandimal during the ODI between India and Sri Lanka at WACA on February 8, 2012 in Perth, Australia. (Getty Images)

4. 3/32 and 30* vs. Sri Lanka (CB Series, Perth, February 2012)

The CSK player came up with a sterling all-round show as he guided the Men in Blue to a scrappy victory over Sri Lanka in the second match of the 2012 CB Series in Perth.

In a first, Ashwin did not place his reliance on the carom ball. He focused on giving the ball a bit more air by bowling slower and managed to extract a lot more turn than was possible on the WACA pitch. It was a clever move by Dhoni; he brought the tweaker on just when Sri Lanka took the batting Powerplay.

And the 25-year old responded in grand style. He used the drift and loop to perfection, forcing the batsmen to make mistakes and lose their heads. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene was the first one to fall prey to this deception, top-edging a sweep to fine leg.

The dangerous Thisara Perera, beaten in flight, was snuffed out without a fuss, and Dinesh Chandimal perished in the same manner after having battled it out for a long period. No late flourish occurred in the slog overs as Sri Lanka managed a modest total in the end.

But India made heavy weather of the chase, and it was a cool and composed knock by the Chennai lad, in tandem with Ravindra Jadeja, that took them home. His only moment of indiscretion came when he tried to do a Dhoni by sealing the game with a six, but miscued his shot, and survived to scamper for the winning run.

Ashwin has the potential to be an all-rounder, but for now, it is best that he focuses on his bowling.