Ashwin rose a place to second, while Ravindra Jadeja jumped seven rungs to be among the top-10 bowlers
Hosts England dominated the proceedings to take control at the end of Day 1 over visitors Ireland at Lord's.
A superb 75 from Harry Brook and some big hitting from tailender Mark Wood earned England a pulsating three-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test.
Keacy Carty hit a half-century and Matthew Forde took three wickets as West Indies claimed a four-wicket win in the rain-affected third one-day international on Saturday to clinch their first home ODI series victory over England since 1998.
Mohammad Rizwan scored a fluent 88 and Haris Rauf and Mohammed Nawaz took three wickets each as Pakistan edged England by three runs in a rollercoaster finish to the fourth Twenty20 in Karachi.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Test between England and Sri Lanka, at Lord's, on Sunday.
India's bid to win a 17th consecutive home Test series, however, hinges on the success of their three-pronged spin attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
After a disappointing showing in the Test series in Australia recently, the Indian team is eager to make a fresh start in the T20 format.
Coach Brendon McCullum said England will continue with their attacking Bazball approach in the last two Tests.
Chasing 192 for a victory that would fetch them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, India cruised to 40 for no loss at stumps on day three.
Alastair Cook's side next travel to India, the world's top-ranked team, before hosting South Africa and West Indies in 2017 ahead of their ultimate challenge in a tour of Australia.
England cemented their position by finishing day two on 202-5 riding fifties by Ben Duckett and Harry Brook.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the opening Ashes Test played between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
England batters look to tame strong South African bowling
Nottinghamshire seam bowler Broad was not considered for selection, with his partner expecting their first child towards the end of November.
Nauman was denied a hat-trick by Brook, who kept England's chase going, despite Pope being bowled by Abrar and Stokes losing his wicket in a run-out following a mix-up between the batters.
England will need to defeat Namibia in their last league match and hope that Scotland lose to Australia.
It was the highest run chase in men's T20 cricket without losing a wicket.
England, chasing 251 to win the must-win third Ashes Test, closed the rain-delayed day three on 27/0.
Former ICC elite umpire Simon Taufel said people cite the 'spirit of the game' when they don't like a dismissal under the laws of cricket.
'We did so many things right in that first game. The messages from the coaches and captain was just that. We had to come back today and put things right, which we did.'
England captain Ben Stokes' swashbuckling 155 was in vain as Australia won the second Ashes Test at Lord's by 43 runs on an extraordinary final day on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series.
India may not be contemplating life after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli just yet but the robust display of their fringe players against England will have eased any fears about how they will cope when the old guard steps aside.
India dominates ICC Test Rankings
Australia led England by 12 runs at the end of a tense and fluctuating second day to leave the final Ashes Test at The Oval on a knife-edge on Friday.
No team is assured of a semifinal berth and England will need to defeat USA by either 10 runs or at least an over to spare to stay in contention for the semifinals.
But Stokes then introduced Ahmed in the afternoon session and the youngster ripped apart Pakistan's middle order.
Josh Tongue picked up a five-wicket haul as England handed Ireland a crushing defeat in the one-off Test at the Lord's.
England captain Ben Stokes on Saturday said staying true to the 'Bazball' approach did not work and conceded that India were too good in their own conditions, always finding a way to wriggle out of tight curves.
Images from Day 1 of the fifth and final Ashes Test between England and Australia at The Oval in London on Thursday.
Out-of-favour India opener K L Rahul was back amongst the runs, hitting an unbeaten half-century to steer India 'A' to 219 for one on day two of the first unofficial Test against England Lions.
India will be looking for another favorable result to extend their lead in the World Test Championships standings.
'I love playing here at Lord's. It's a nice place to play if you get in, you get good value for your shots and yeah, nice to get myself back up on the honours board again.'
England lost opener Zak Crawley but held firm in the final hour of a pulsating day four in the second Test against New Zealand.
England will be looking to bounce back from a rain-affected opening match and solidify their T20 World Cup campaign
As the prestigious Ashes gets underway, here's a look at the milestones that can be achieved.
Images from Day 3 of the second Ashes between England and Australia at Lord's.
Australia's pacemen Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins ripped out England's top order with a masterclass of textbook bowling to put their side in sight of a 2-0 Ashes lead on Saturday.
