(Cricket News) The only other players in Test history with as many five-wicket hauls as Ravichandran Ashwin are Muthiah Muralidaran, Shane Warne, and Richard Hadlee. After two more, the only one ahead of him will be Muralidaran.
R Ashwin’s most notable Test cricket performances have been three non-five-fors, despite his abundance of big wicket hauls. Two of those come from losses to teams abroad: 3 for 59 in the Edgbaston third innings in 2018, when he removed Alastair Cook (bowled with a pitch-leg, hit-off peach for the second time in the match), Keaton Jennings, and Joe Root to leave England 39 for 3 (effectively 52 for 3); and 4 for 113 at Centurion earlier that year, when he spearheaded the effort to bowl South Africa out for 335, compensating for India’s seamers’ inability to get through the top order on a first-day pitch.
When asked to list his greatest moments prior to his 100th Test match at Dharamsala, Ashwin responded, “When you end, it is Test wins that stand really tall. But after much consideration, I think the stint I bowled in Birmingham in 2018 was among my best ever.
On the third day, in the morning, I got three wickets. Cook, Root, and Jennings were mine. In the match, I secured seven wickets. Though it did not work out, I thought I had bowled India to victory in the match. I bowled one of my best periods ever, I think.”
Despite his numbers in Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa compare favourably with other spinners of his era, Ashwin’s selections appear to be a stubborn defence of an overseas record that has been under fire throughout his career.
Due to India’s tendency to play just one spinner in those conditions and their preference for Ravindra Jadeja over Ashwin because of his batsmanship, he has not had many opportunities to break his duck of five-fors in those nations in recent years.
When questioned about it, Ashwin acknowledged that he believed the team management was acting in the best interests of the group, but he still expressed sadness at being left out even though he understood their justifications.
“The only way you could figure that out is if you had a time machine, me playing, and then you could figure out if the outcome would have been different,” stated Ashwin. “It is always disheartening to be left out of a certain game for your nation. When you are aware that your bowling is good and all. Once more, I would argue that the team made a move that was unquestionably in the best interests of the group.
“Look, hardly many teams in the world can compare to India’s strength. Ravindra Jadeja is the one who is replacing me. His bat averages show that he has been hitting fairly well. In those games, I believe that is where he outscored me. The squad feels that he is been hitting rather well, and that the pitches we play on in South Africa and England may not make bowling all that much of an impact. Yes, I would say that I would accept that.
