Ashwin leads the way once more

The off-spinner had a slow start in the first Test with only one wicket, but he quickly turned things around in the second Test in Pune. It took him just five balls to dismiss New Zealand skipper Tom Latham. Ashwin has consistently dominated Latham, having now taken his wicket for the eighth time.

Then he took another wicket in the morning session. Then another after lunch to peg the Kiwis back when everyone else still seemed to be coming to grips with the surface.

Plenty of work had gone on the surface before the Test in full view of the opponents so that it would spin enough after the reversal for hosts at Bengaluru. Introduced in the eight over, Ashwin got the new ball to drift, putch in line with the leg stump and turn from around the wicket to catch Latham in front. The ball was delivered at 89.9 kph, quicker than what he would usually begin his spells with.

It was an early marker set by India’s lead spinner on the ideal bowling speeds for the pitch, which changed as the day progressed.

Ashwin moves ahead of Lyon

Who better than the highest wicket taker (378 wkts in 64 matches) on Indian soil to set markers? Ashwin, 38, has been doing it for 13 years, comfortably making up for lost time after a relatively late arrival on the big stage.

When Ashwin picked up his second wicket (Will Young), he went past his biggest rival Nathan Lyon – 531 wickets to 530. It’s a battle that shall continue long into the Australian summer when the two spin giants clash for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, later this year.

There’s nothing but mutual respect the two have for each other. Lyon has spoken of how Ashwin is one of his ‘biggest coaches’. So forthright is Ashwin, that he wouldn’t mind bouncing off ideas with the Australian spinner before the start of the series.

While constantly evolving his art form - from carrom balls to something as unexpected as leg-spin – the off spinner didn’t mind doing a masterclass for the host broadcasters as they zoomed in and analysed his different bowling grips and variations in the middle of the 2021 England tour.

“No matter who goes to Ash, whether it is ideas on bowling or any technicality, he is willing to share. That’s a great quality about him. It feels special to be playing alongside him in Test matches,” Washington Sundar said on Thursday.

For the longest time, Washington has been Ashwin’s understudy. On day 1 in Pune, it was to be his day – finishing with 7/59, identical career best figures as Ashwin. “We discussed a lot in practice sessions (before the Test). He was kind enough to share his experience. Today we kept talking about the pace and fields on the wicket,” Washington said.

Cricket analyst Himanish Ganjoo found that Ashwin got significantly more turn in his morning spell in comparison to previous first innings numbers in India Tests since 2022. It was up from 2.94 to 3.97 degrees when delivered in bowling speeds between 85-90 kph. The difference was even sharper – 3.21 from 1.87 degrees - when bowled with even quicker at speeds between 90-95 kph.

As the ball became softer, Ashwin advised Washington to put more body into the ball, even as he himself continued to vary his speeds. That’s how Ashwin got Conway, his third scalp of the day to finish with 24-2-64-3.

Comfortable in his skin, aware of his limitations, thinking on his feet, competitive to the core, Ashwin never stops learning. Equally importantly, as his Tamil Nadu teammate Washington Sundar would testify, he never stops sharing what he has learnt either.