Ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin wreaked havoc against the West Indies in the first Test against in Dominica. He picked up 12 wickets to propel India to a thumping victory by an innings and 141 runs.
Ashwin also extended the lead in the ICC Test bowling rankings, taking his points tally to 884.
Despite his brilliant performances away from the rank turners in India, he was ignored for the World Test Championship 2023 Final against Australia. And Ashwin let his performance speak for himself after running through the West Indies batting line-up.
But why is the Rajasthan Royals' spinner so successful on foreign wickets? Former Indian spinner Sunil Joshi shared his opinion with The Indian Express.
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What makes R Ashwin more lethal than R Jadeja in foreign conditions?
“How does he do that? Pretty simple: By putting an extra revolution on the ball. For that ball has to go in the air, dip, come down and the batsman needs to step out, reach the ball and play with the spin, or against the spin. Every ball differs from the revolutions in the air and after pitching, it changes direction based on the surface where it lands, be it on the seam or on the shiny part. He gets that drift that goes away from the right-hander as well as the left-hander," Joshi stated.
“He understands the dynamics. How, why and what? He knows he needs to put more revolution to the ball and it doesn’t matter if it is a red ball, white ball or orange ball. A spinner needs to spin the ball, doesn’t matter if it is at international level, domestic level or club level. Put revolutions in the ball and be consistent on the hard length with a repeatable action to master it. This is what Ashwin does,” he further added.
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Joshi believes that bowling quick is not the answer to success. Instead the degree of 'overspin' determines if you are effective on foreign soil.
“Why is Nathan Lyon successful across the world? Because he bowls overspin. Why is Ashwin successful? Because he bowls overspin. Why Jadeja and Axar Patel are not successful in overseas conditions or where the wicket doesn’t help?" he explained.
"A spinner need not depend on the surface. On a turning track, you don’t need to tell anyone how to bowl, where to bowl and why to bowl. Those questions will only come when you bowl on a good batting wicket, a good Test match wicket.
"A spinner should understand on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy or the Test match cricket what sort of line and length one has to bowl and with what field. It alters each day of a Test and it is also important how and where to bowl to the top five or six batsmen. What is his shot selections and where to bowl to the tailenders. Ashwin ticks all those boxes."
What next for R Ashwin?
The off-spinner will hope to continue his brilliant form when he is back in action in the second test match against West Indies on July 20.
