Ashwin looked a transformed bowler against Australia after undergoing technical corrections

If one compares India’s approach during the home series against England to the just-concluded series against Australia, one of the most striking differences to surface would be the intent.

Ravichandran Ashwin looked threating on every surface that was meted out during the course of the series © IANS

By Karthik Parimal

If one compares India’s approach during the home series against England to the just-concluded series against Australia, one of the most striking differences to surface would be the intent. The way Murali Vijay altered his style to produce truckloads of runs has already been documented. Apart from this, Shikhar Dhawan’s carnage that helped India seal victory within four days, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s blitzkrieg in the Chennai Test, when India were at a tentative juncture, and various other factors  contributed handsomely in the reversal of tide. Another name that deserves a mention for being a thorn in the flesh of the Australians is Ravichandran Ashwin.

During the series against England, once the final whistle was blown, Ashwin finished as the least impressive of the four frontline spinners in action [the other three being Pragyan Ojha, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar]. He averaged 52.64 with the ball, and one feared his incompetence even in the familiar confines of home. Therefore, before the commencement of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, one wondered whether Ashwin would recuperate in time and, understandably, many eyebrows were raised when he was chosen ahead of Ojha for the Chennai Test.

Ashwin responded with his old flair. At the end of the first day’s play, he bagged six wickets for 88 runs, whereas the rest of the bowlers combined mustered 228 for one. It’s in cases such as these that the importance of having a good mentor comes to the forefront. A slight problem in Ashwin’s technique was quickly spotted by his coach Sunil Subramaniam and that helped fix the conundrum. “Actually, my delivery stride was too long and it got worse during the Test series against England,” said a relieved Ashwin post the Australian series to ESPN Cricinfo.

He looked threating on every surface that was meted out during the course of the series. Of course, the best of 7 for 103 was always going to be arduous to better, but he came close to doing it on three occasions — 5 for 95 in the second innings of that same Test, 5 for 63 in Hyderabad and 5 for 57 in Delhi. He finished the series with 29 wickets in his pockets, averaging 20.10 and striking every 50 deliveries. It was a more aggressive, able Ashwin that had been unleashed. He wasn’t apprehensive about tossing the ball or giving it more air and during the dying days of Test and, had the batsmen hopping at the crease like a cat on a hot tin roof more often than not. It’s hard to remember a substantial patch of play where he was forced to be on the defensive.

Ashwin now has 92 wickets from 16 Tests. This is better than the proficient Vernon Philander of South Africa, who has 89 in as many matches. The former is yet to be tested in unfamiliar conditions, but the fact remains that his improvement has been quite spectacular ever since the slight glitch was tweaked. Whether he can go on to become the country’s fastest to 100 wickets remains to be seen. For now, it augurs well that his intent and morale are back to where they should be.

(Karthik Parimal, a Correspondent with CricketCountry, is a cricket aficionado and a worshipper of the game. He idolises Steve Waugh and can give up anything, absolutely anything, just to watch a Kumar Sangakkara cover drive. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/karthik_parimal )