The battle between Ravichandran Ashwin and the opposition’s best batsman usually stands out as a sub-plot in almost every Test match that India has played during the last couple of seasons. From the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and AB de Villiers, the focus has shifted to the modern-day generation of Kane Williamson and Joe Root.
After plotting Williamson’s downfall in the previous home series, the 30-year old has shifted his gaze to England’s middle-order bulwark. His tussle with Root led to a fascinating passage of play during the opening day of the fourth Test in Mumbai.
Watch: Ashwin deceives Root in the first innings of the Mumbai Test
At the end of day press conference, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner revealed how he identified a potential weakness of the Yorkshireman and chalked up a plan in order to exploit the frailty to his advantage.
Ashwin said, “I must say, I reworked that dismissal in my head because he has got out a lot of times in the slips. In the last three Test matches, we have played, he nicked one in Vizag (second Test). I thought he nicked one and it was reviewed over and turned over. But, he has got a tendency to nick spinners to the slip cordon. I saw him nick Dane Piedt in South Africa. He has done it quite a few times to Nathon Lyon as well.”
The wily off-spinner added, “So, I was just imagining. On the first day, this is one of the wickets out of the 4 Tests, where actually edges do carry to slips. So, I was just mentally working it over and it happened.”
Root had arrived onto the crease following Cook’s dismissal and began to build a partnership with debutant Keaton Jennings. But, Ashwin tossed one up slightly outside the off-stump which invited the right-hander forward and procured the edge. Despite being off-balance, skipper Virat Kohli managed to hold on to the catch.
From then on, India had to wait for a long time before capturing another breakthrough. When Jennings and Moeen Ali took the visitors to a comfortable position at 230/2, the match appeared to be heading in only one direction. However, Ashwin intervened to spark a cluster of wickets and bring India back into the contest.
Also Read: SK Turning Point – Ravichandran Ashwin's double-wicket over brings India back in Mumbai Test
On his vital spell in the post-tea session, he felt, “I thought the rewards for that spell came for what I did in the afternoon session because I thought I bowled a really good spell then to Jennings and Ali and got Root out. I thought that was one of the better spells of the day and got rewards for it as soon as I came back in the third spell.”
‘See very similar traits to 2012 Mumbai Test’
With England at 288/5, India need a couple of quick blows at the start of the second day to prevent them from reaching a formidable total. Interestingly, Ashwin compared this match to the previous Test here between the two teams in 2012.
The all-rounder believed, “When we played (against) England last time here, the morning of the first day wicket was a bit damp. It spun a little and it was absolutely flat on days two and three. I see very similar traits here. We got out of jail and got to 330-340 (327) the last time we played them here. If we could have got one more wicket (in this game), we were on the course to do that but probably we will come out tomorrow morning and try to snap a couple of wickets and see how quickly we can stall their innings.”
While Root held his own in the opening round by scoring a century in Rajkot, Ashwin has bounced back by dismissing him in the first innings of both the second and the fourth Test. Their duel is likely to play a key role in determining the second innings here as well as the fifth Test in Chennai.
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