Over the years, Ravichandran Ashwin has evolved and turned himself into an elite bowler on par with some of the best in the world. He has managed to add subtle variations to his bowling and this has made a world of difference to his spin. Here are five of the most popular variations bowled by the Chennai bowler:
Carom ball:
The carom ball that Ashwin possesses is one of his go-to deliveries when the chips are down for the team. It is a delivery that can deceive batsmen thanks to its difficulty in picking up and hitting it. The delivery is bowled with a conventional off-spinning technique but spins the other way.
It is most effective when used against the tail-enders and Ashwin has plucked many wickets in the lower order of oppositions using this delivery.
Top spin:
Another delivery that is very hard for batsmen to pick out and hit, the top spin produces more bounce than turn. Bowled with an intention of landing it on the seam, the top spin delivery by Ashwin tends to bounce a little extra and induce an edge.
It is a difficult delivery to execute but Ashwin is a master of his art and has managed to use it in the right situation to gain extra purchase off the surface.
Slider:
The slider is a delivery that Ashwin uses when he is opening the bowling for the team. Used a lot in T20 matches, Ashwin has bowled the slider in order to deceive batsmen with pace more than spin.
The slider is bowled with the seam and considering the factor of less spin in the opening overs, it is a great delivery to fool batsmen. It comes at a higher pace than a normal delivery and batsman who are looking to attack are often left in the lurch thanks to that extra bit of pace.
Leg spin:
Though he is an off-spinner, Ashwin has bowled a few leg spinning deliveries as well to completely deceive the batsman. His action is smooth and more finger-based, which means that it is easier for him to pull out the delivery out of nowhere.
Ashwin has not used the delivery much in his career but considering his skill, it won’t be long before he uses it much more often.
Off-spinner:
His conventional delivery, Ashwin however has two types of balls that he uses. Based on what he is planning on doing, he releases the delivery. The first one has an over spin and generally moves towards the fine leg region. He bowls this delivery when he is trying to tempt the batsman into playing a lofted shot.
The other, more side spinning delivery is toward fine leg and generally is his stock delivery that can be used to extract spin from the wicket. He bowls these deliveries with only his index and thumb.
