Ace Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is someone who tries all the tricks and treats to get the better of his opponents. He loves to explore the rulebook and makes sure that all the tactics he does on-field are right within the rules. On Saturday, Ravi Ashwin was back in the news again for his new tactic on-field.
Well, the Kiwis got off to a stunning start with the bat in their first innings. The Indian bowlers failed to pick any wicket on the second day of the first test match. India was having a tough day at work for the first 66 overs as the Kiwi opening pair Will Young and Tom Latham added 151-runs for the opening stance, with 129 of the runs coming by the end of the second day.
Ravi Ashwin gave the much-needed breakthrough to team India, breaking the 151-run stand as he dismissed Young for 89 runs. Following that, Ashwin tried a lot of tricks and variations to get better of his opponents and he was lethal. Ashwin kept troubling the opponents with his wide variety of skills throughout the day.
While his tactics didn’t go down well with many, the former legendary Kiwi all-rounder Daniel Vettori was very impressed with Ravi Ashwin’s tactics during the second innings of the ongoing first Test match between India and New Zealand.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Vettori spoke about how the 35-year-old loves to experiment. He also admitted that he is enjoying all the tactics of the off-spinner during the match. He said:
“Ashwin loves this sort of stuff now. He wants to test the boundaries, he wants to see what he can do as a bowler. When he’s on the Indian wickets which provides so much, he then settles into a rhythm and bowls it spot on” said Vettori. “He wants to show his variety, he wants to show his skills and he wants to show off in a lot of ways. I think it’s pretty cool to watch, it keeps batters on guard,”
He added:
“I’m really enjoying this because you know you don’t see this from a spinner, ever. I can’t remember a spinner trying this much on such a surface, and I think he’s starting to get the reward. I think he’s created so many doubts in the mind of some of the batters. They’re on guard the whole time and that’s the perfect situation for a spinner,”
