Vadodara, January 11: Former Team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's light-hearted praise for New Zealand batter Mitchell Hay turned into a humorous moment during the opening India vs New Zealand match on Sunday after Hay was dismissed soon after the comment. The internet users came up with funny memes to Ashwin's tweet calling him a "Certified Jinxer."
Ashwin had posted on social media that Hay "doesn't have to make a big score" to show his class and added that the youngster looked "high quality," with the ball "racing off his bat." Ashwin also joked, “Hope I don’t jinx," as he admired Hay's clean hitting.
But minutes later, Hay was out for 18 off 13 balls, with two boundaries to his name, making the jinx joke feel unexpectedly accurate. The moment sparked reactions from fans online, with many laughing at how quickly the dismissal followed Ashwin's post. Ashwin then reposted the post with laughing emojis.
The internet users reacted with funny memes of depicting Ashwin as a person doing black magic. One of the users said, "Ashwin sir, tell me honestly, this wasn't the first time, was it?"
Another said, "Jinx worked", while other said, "Ash Anna too powerful." A user made an unusual request to the former Indian spinner. He requested Ashwin not to tweet when Virat Kohli comes to bat. He said, "No tweets while Virat batting, please."
Even though Hay didn't make a big score, Ashwin's point stood as the New Zealand batter looked confident, timed the ball well and showed signs of strong technique against the Indian bowling attack.
Batting first, New Zealand scored 300 in their 50 overs with loss of eight wickets. Daryl Mitchell was highest scorer in their first innings, scoring 84 runs from 71 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. India need 301 runs to win the match. The score looks chaseable only if "Ashwin does not tweet praising the Indian batters."
