Mumbai: It was late in the day, 5th delivery of the 82nd over to be precise. Trent Boult bowled one into the pads of Ravichandran Ashwin, the offie clipped it away to deep square leg and collected a single.
The scoreboard showed Ashwin was batting on 34 against New Zealand. Nothing special, the audience didn’t bat an eye. But something unusual happened at the very moment. Ashwin by taking that single became this year’s highest run-getter and wicket-taker for India in Tests.
India are playing their 500th Test in Kanpur against the Kiwis. The 2016 story of Test cricket however, is only five Tests old. But that should not undermine the great achievement of the player. Ashwin has achieved the feat playing alongside extraordinary talents like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay.
The ongoing Test is the first of many to come. India are playing 13 Tests at home and it is a glorious opportunity for them to reclaim the no. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. They also have an opportunity to do a ‘Usain Bolt’ with the lead at the top.
It is incredibly tough to beat India at home. But the 13-Test home season is unprecedented. It’s going to be a tough challenge, and the team would rely heavily on their most valuable player.
The tag of India’s ‘most valuable' player was given to Ashwin by the 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev.
"To me he is the team's allrounder, a bowling allrounder. The team depends on him, he is the most important cricketer, he is the one who can change the game single-handedly. I will regard him as the most valuable player for Team India."
"He is one bowler who has the ability to win a match for India in one session. He can pick up five wickets in five overs and change the game,"Kapil told reporters on Monday.
Match-winners are invaluable to any team. And Ashwin has not only made himself indispensable to Team India, but has also evolved as India’s biggest match-winner. The recently concluded tour of West Indies was another reminder of the fact.
Ashwin took 17 wickets in the series and helped India register their biggest Test series victory against West Indies in their own backyard. He was the only player in the series to hit two centuries. Ashwin was presented with the Man of the Series trophy, his sixth in a short career of 36 Tests.
Surprisingly, Sachin Tendulkar won only five player of the series awards during his long career of 200 Tests.
Ashwin took 13 wickets during the 2015 ICC World Cup. (Photo: AFP)
Ashwin is in the form of his life. But it’s his bowling stats, which are giving massive headaches and sleepless nights to his opponents.
The off-spinner has grabbed 74 wickets in India’s last four Test series at a crazy average of 17.85. This one is for those who feel Ashwin can’t be successful outside India, 38 of those 74 scalps have come in Sri Lanka and West Indies.
The most important thing which the numbers are unable to capture is Ashwin’s mental strength. From dropping out of the Test team in the 2014 Australia tour to taking 13 wickets to help India reach the World Cup semi-finals down under, the Chennai resident has shown that he is willing to learn and improve. Learning is a never ending process for the off-spinner.
A lot of things have changed in Cricket over the years. However, one thing has remained constant, you still need to take 20 wickets to win a Test. And Ashwin is India’s best hope to do it consistently.
