“Ravichandran Ashwin Should Be Really Proud”

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the most legendary spinners that Indian cricket has ever produced. Ashwin who currently has picked up 499 Test wickets, is just one wicket behind from joining the elite list of bowlers to pick up 500 Test wickets in Tests. He will only become the second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble enters the 500-wicket mark. Ashwin could have completed the record in the second IND vs ENG Test match itself, however, he was not able to do so.

Ravichandran Ashwin went wicketless in the first innings of the match. This was the first time after 2019 that Ashwin didn’t pick up a wicket in a Test match in India in a single Test innings. However, Ashwin showed a brilliant comeback in the second innings and picked up 3 fer.

The pitch didn’t have much for Ravichandran Ashwin in itself due to which it became easier for the England batsman to score runs against him. Ashwin is expected to be more dominant in India rather other countries, however, he has not been able to bowl as per his potential in the first two Tests so far.

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Ravichandran Ashwin should be proud of the way he has bowled so far. Manjrekar feels that he has taken on England’s approach of playing sweeps against him very well and has also varied his pace whenever it was needed. Manjrekar also stated that Ashwin has gone back to the 70s and is tossing the ball more up in the air to get results.

Sanjay Manjrekar on Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance in 2nd IND vs ENG Test

He said to ESPNcricinfo, “He should be really proud of the way he bowled, especially prior to the 50 overs where he reacted superbly to the England approach of the reverse sweep and the normal sweep and the switch hit and everything. So Ashwin, he is starting to find the answer to the problem and what he has done, is very interesting actually. When you look at it, he went back to the classical old days of the 70s, where bowlers used to toss the ball up and we used to call it the guile and their deception in the air.”

Sanjay Manjrekar added that whenever the bowler bowls with a flatter trajectory, it becomes easier for the batsman to play the sweep shot. Manjrekar said that this was the intelligence of Ravichandran Ashwin that he used to get wickets in the second innings on a pitch that had nothing for him.

He said, “And that’s what he was working on. When you get pace off the pitch and the trajectory is a little flatter those sweep shots that we are talking about does become more easier. So brilliant on a pitch that had nothing for him we saw the guile of Ashwin that we don’t normally associate with him getting wickets on home pitches.”

The third Test of the five-match series will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot from February 15. The series is currently leveled at 1-1, with three matches to play.