Ravichandran Ashwin may not be India’s highest wicket-taker in the World Cup, but the tall off-spinner is not complaining.
Fast bowlers Mohammed Shami (17) and Umesh Yadav (14) have taken more wickets than Ashwin as holders India, traditional spin powerhouses, have focused their attack on pace on the wickets down under.
In five of their six group matches, the quick men ensured the longest India had to wait for their first wicket was the fifth over, allowing Ashwin and his fellow spinners the luxury of dominating the middle overs.
“As far as the spinner is concerned, when I come in, I’ve got that little bit more freedom,” Ashwin said on Monday ahead of Thursday’s semi-final against Australia in Sydney.
In claiming 12 wickets, Ashwin has proved more economical than the pacemen, which is no mean feat for a spinner in a format in which rules and conditions favour batsmen so heavily. The 28 year old from Chennai has also relished the challenge of bowling to the best batsmen in the tournament, particularly in the powerplays.
“I think the batting powerplay is a very good time to attack because you don’t give a lot of singles and it is pretty much about boundaries and wickets,” he said.
“I like to throw myself in the middle and try and see how much of an impact I can make in a game against Chris Gayle or AB de Villiers.
“I look to get them out in the middle, because once you get them out the game is going to go your way.”
Temperament-wise a pace bowler in a spinner’s disguise, Ashwin’s control of his craft is one of the strengths of his game, something that he underlined with his three scoreless overs in India’s high-pressure tournament opener against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Ashwin has controlled his turn, stuck to an off-stump line and varied flight and pace to force batsmen into committing mistakes, a recipe his team hope he will repeat against Australia as India bid to retain the title they won on home soil four years ago.
“Ashwin is someone I have always loved to have in my side,” captain MS Dhoni said earlier in the tournament.
“I have always pushed him to bowl in the powerplays and difficult situations. He is really confident about his bowling. He understands his bowling well.
“The good thing with him is he keeps improving himself. Every time he is part of the series, he sees the challenges and accordingly improves.”
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