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R Ashwin: India’s Champion Bowler and Test Cricket Legend

R Ashwin Cricket performance
Image credit: Cricket Mood
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Ravichandran Ashwin is a synonym for success for an Indian cricket team. Recentlyhe joined the elite group of bowlers by crossing the 500-wicket mark in Test cricket only.

Such an achievement was not possible for most bowlers because it has crossed the boundary of time for very few bowlers in this sport.

Ashwin has been very special for India’s Test team over the past decade. He has emerged as one of India’s most impactful matchwinners.

The Road to 500 Wickets

Test cricket has come to be branded over the years with great bowlers, but none other than eight of them had enjoyed the distinction of 500 wickets before Ashwin.

Cricket fans would not have imagined Zak Crawley walking in to get himself out against Ashwin when he bagged his 500th wicket. Dominant Run in Test Cricket

Years back, Ashwin established himself in the exclusive list of the bowlers who sported the gilded tag of ages: Test players. He became the second-fastest bowler. And attained the milestone of 500 wickets in terms of matches and deliveries bowled in an innings against England.

His great adaptability and excellence have made him world-class as a bowler. Ever since November 2011, Ashwin has consistently performed at the top level on both home and foreign turf.

In fact, only Nathan Lyon has taken more wickets in the same period, albeit with 26 more matches than Ashwin. The statistics, therefore, speak for themselves of Ashwin’s exceptional consistency and ability to take wickets.

R Ashwin Cricket performance

Image credit: ABP Live

Bowler Wickets Matches Played Period

Bowler Wickets Matches Period

 

Nathan Lyon 509 126 2011-2024

 

R Ashwin 500 98 2011-2024

 

Stuart Broad 405 108 2011-2024

 

James Anderson 364 100 2011-2024

Related Article : Jasprit Bumrah: An awe-inspiring talent of Indian cricket


Dominance at Home

One of the cricketers that really stands out in his career is the dominance that Ashwin displays while home conditions prevail. Indian pitches favor spinners, and Ashwin has indeed exploited the niche: his record at home is just outstanding

He has taken 347 wickets in 58 Tests at an average of 21.22, and that simply makes him one of the most successful on home soil in the history of the game.With only a handful of wickets remaining for India to consolidate the fifth position in cricketing history, bowling 350 wickets at home.

Ashwin has already been provided a place next to Muttiah Muralidaran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Anil Kumble. From all other bowlers, his average is among the best.

Bowler  Home Wickets  Matches Played  Average

Bowler Wickets Matches Average
Muttiah Muralitharan 493 73 19.56
James Anderson 401 70 23.84
Stuart Broad 372 61 24.38
Anil Kumble 350 63 22.74
R Ashwin 347 58 21.22

The Matchwinner for India

Ashwin, in fact, has been a big part of India’s winning story in Test cricket, especially at home.

In all, he played 57 Tests at home, and on all these pitches, the Indian team emerged victorious in 42 instances, which is an excellent figure. Altogether, he was part of 56 Test match victories, making him one of the most successful Indian players in terms of matches won.

His contributions in those matches have been immense. 

Ashwin has risen to the challenge, whether the country or the conditions; he has made match-winning performances at home and abroad.

Thus, in Ashwin’s successful campaigns, he has collected 346 wickets and averaged 19. This has placed him in the category with legends such as Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Muttiah Murals, among others, who have been noted to have helped their teams to victory. 

Ashwin has remained a performer in concerning matches and defining matches of the series. The 10 Players of the Series awards say it all-only Muralidaran, with 11 such awards, is better. 


An ogre for the batsmen.

One of the special features of Ashwin was that he used to bowl right-handed batsmen off the pitch and apply pressure on the left-handed batsman.

Of the 500 wickets that he has pricked in his career, 249 are left-handed batsmen, and that is the maximum a bowler could ever achieve in the game.

This is better than even Ashwin’s fantastic average of 19. 52 against the lefthanders’ can also be considered as evidence of his supremacy over the lefthanders.

This speaks volumes about him, the best-lefthanded batsman in the present and the past, we see the likes of Ben Stokes, David Warner, and Alastair Cook have been on one side.

Left-Handed Batsman Times Dismissed by Ashwin

 

Ben Stokes 11

 

David Warner 10

 

Alastair Cook 9

 

Tom Latham 8

Master of the New Ball

The fact that makes Ashwin a multi-dimensional bowling attack is his utilization of the new ball.

He has bowled at the start of the innings in Test cricket 50 times and has picked 165 wickets with an average of 19. 36. Only a handful of spinners in the contemporary cricketing world have such thrashing with the new ball.

That is a very rare quality in a spinner, his ability to have wickets and control in the first twenty overs of an innings. And he stands alongside fast bowlers like Stuart Broad and James Anderson in terms of wickets taken in the first 20 overs since 2011.

The Ashwin-Jadeja Duo

Much of Ashwin’s success has come alongside Ravindra Jadeja. Together, they formed a murder spin combination for India, particularly at home.

Together, they have played 50 Tests and, together, picked up 511 wickets at an average of 21.69. It has resulted in India winning 35 of the 50 matches, of which 30 were at home.

Their combination has been one of the most successful in contemporary Test cricket, and their ability to complement each other’s styles of bowling has proved the essence of India’s prowess at home.

Spin Pair Wickets Taken Matches Played Average
Ashwin-Jadeja 511 50 21.69
Kumble-Harbhajan 501 54 30.23

Starting as a sole disciplinarian of his backyard to successful implementation overseas, Ashwin can be seen to have emerged as one of the all-time greats. 

Reference:

espncricinfo.com

hindustantimes.com

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