CHENNAI: When Ravichandran Ashwin walked in to give skipper Virat Kohli company India were
106 for 6 on Day Three of the second Test on Monday, England had their tails up. There was turn and bounce. India had lost five wickets in the morning session.
Kohli stood alone amidst the rubble. It was just a matter of time before India folded up, one would have thought. Jack Leach was hurling the ball with a thousand revolutions. Moeen Ali was playing the supporting role but no less easy to face.
Just a day ago, Ashwin pooh-poohed criticism of the pitch. He said batsmen needed to be patient, see off the initial period and runs were there for the taking. On Day 3, after defending the first ball, Ashwin swept the second one. The ball whizzed past square-leg to the boundary, bringing MA Chidambaram
Stadium to its feet — the ground where Ashwin dreamt of being a cricketer. With his wife Prithi and daughters Akhira and Aadhya watching from the stands, an unusual tale was unfurling.
Ashwin hardly sweeps, the shot is a rarity. “The last time I was sweeping was when I was 19 years old," he made a cheeky revelation. "I hit a couple of sweep shots and was dropped from the first XI and never played that for the last 13-14 years. Been practising the shot for the last week to 10 days and thankful the plan paid off.”
The sweep shots and aggressive start to the innings wasn’t an impromptu decision. Days leading up to the second Test, Ashwin had turned to his statemate S Badrinath for advice on batting on this wicket. The latter, an exponent of playing spin and knows what exactly needs to be done at Chepauk, asked Ashwin to start aggressively and sweep as and when it merits. Ashwin, like a dutiful student, obliged. A hundred on his home ground.
Every time you write-off Ashwin, he comes back with a fitting reply. Since the restart after lockdown, he has already shown he can still do it in T20s, has silenced critics about his performance overseas, has taken body blows in a rearguard fourth-innings knock that will be remembered for ages. On Monday, he
showed there is still some juice left in Ashwin the batsmen.
Ashwin’s fifth Test century, his first on his home-ground, was more than just a milestone. It was a statement he wished to make. First, he silenced those who had been criticising the pitch, then he showed he can bat too. Kohli looked at ease during his controlled 62 and along with Ashwin's 106 runs batting at No 8, put India in a position where defeat is not a possibility. England were 52 for three chasing a target of 482.
As a 19-year-old, Ashwin was still seen in Chepauk as a batsman, who could bowl off-spin. At 34, Ashwin now has 392 Test wickets, and before walking in to bat on Monday, had four Test centuries and 11 fifties to his name.
After starting his India career at No 6 or 7, something changed for Ashwin during the 2018 tour of South Africa. Barring the Bengaluru Test against Australia in 2017 where India rejigged their batting order, Ashwin was pushed down the order to No 8 for the first time since 2015. After that tour, he has batted as No 8 or 9 in 35 innings. From batting ahead of Wriddhiman Saha, he was batting below him. Considering that he doesn’t get to play regularly, the start-stop hasn’t helped his case either.
During the lockdown, it took India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour a phone call to figure where India had lost Ashwin the batsman. Slowly, apart from bringing back the confidence, Rathour has thrown Ashwin new challenges which the 34-year-old has gladly accepted.
“Rathour has been helpful in exploring new options. As it is I am someone who tries a lot. He is helping me. I'd love to credit him for how my batting has gone through in the last few 4-5 Tests,” Ashwin said.