[Watch] Ravichandran Ashwin castles Ben Foakes to complete 36th five-wicket haul in his 100th Test for India on Day 3 of 5th Test vs England

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made his 100th Test even more special by picking up his 36th five-wicket haul on Day 3 of the ongoing Test against England in Dharamsala on Saturday, March 9. Ashwin dismissed Ben Foakes with a brilliant delivery to reach the milestone.

Foakes seemed itching to play the release shot as the pressure of dot balls bogged him down. However, Ashwin was one step ahead as he invited the batter to play the slog sweep with a loopy delivery outside off-stump.

Ben Foakes took the bait and went for the big shot, but the ball gripped and turned to go through the gap between the bat and pad and crashed into his stumps. It was a sensational piece of bowling from Ravichandran Ashwin and Foakes immediately realized that it was a poor shot and that he fell for the trap.

Here's the video of the dismissal:

Ashwin joined Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble in an elite club of players to have taken a five-wicket haul in their 100th Test. He needs one more wicket to become the first-ever player to take 10 scalps in their 100th Test.

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Ravichandran Ashwin's quality has been too much to handle for England

India went with Ravichandran Ashwin as the new ball partner to Jasprit Bumrah and it proved to be a masterstroke as the veteran off-spinner ensured England didn't get off to a good start in their second innings on Day 3.

Ashwin sent England's top order packing, reducing them to 36/3. While Ben Duckett threw his wicket away trying to be ultra-aggressive, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope's dismissals were more about Ashwin's brilliance. He got Crawley caught at leg slip with the ball gripping a bit and then produced a side spinner to induce a false shot from Pope.

Coming back into the attack just before lunch, Ashwin ended Ben Stokes' disappointing series with the bat by cleaning him up with an arm ball. Foakes' wicket might make one believe the pitch has plenty of turn. But that wasn't the case. It was just the brilliance of a legendary spinner playing his 100th Test.