‘If England have to compete in this, it has to be how they deal with Ashwin’: Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir mentioned that if England want to compete in this series, they need a good plan to deal with Ashwin.

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ran through the England batting order on the second day of the second Test in Chennai to claim his 29th five-wicket haul. He tinkered his pace and lengths in an outstanding manner to return with the figures of 43/5 in 23.5 overs.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in a conversation with captain Virat Kohli (BCCI/Twitter)

Impressed with Ashwin’s onslaught, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir stated that the off-spinner has become so consistent with the ball that he is expected to pick a five-for almost every time he gets on the field.

While speaking on Star Sports Network after the end of second day’s play, Gambhir stated that Ashwin has got ample variations and can bowl equally well against both the right- and left-handed batsmen.

“Ashwin again, world-class and very accurate, didn't give anything away. It is expected of him because now people expect him to take fifers on a very regular basis,” Gambhir told on Star Sports.

“A lot of finger spinners don’t bowl well with the new ball. They want a little bit old ball which can actually grip and stuff, but Ravichandran Ashwin; the kind of variation he has got, he undercuts the ball, he can take the ball away from you and he’s brilliant against the left-handers as well as the right-handers,” he added.

Gambhir went on to praise the way Ashwin bowled in the recently-concluded Test series Down-Under and troubled their ace batsman Steve Smith.

“Look at what he did against Steve Smith (in the Australia tour). We can talk about what he has done in Indian conditions or the wickets like what we are watching right now. But his spell against Smith against Melbourne was probably the best spell any off-spinner has ever bowled in Australia. That was one of the best spells bowled by any spinner in any formats across any team,” said Gambhir.

Gambhir also mentioned that if England want to compete in this series, they need a good plan to deal with Ashwin.

“We’ve always expected that once he comes back from Australia in his own conditions, he’s gonna even more dangerous. He’s got two fifers in first two matches and with five innings to go, it will be difficult for England now.

“It depends how they are going to survive against Ashwin because if they have to compete in this series going forward, it has to be how they deal with Ashwin,” said Gambhir.

Ashwin became the first bowler to pick up 200 dismissals of left-handers on Sunday. He reached this feat after cleaning up Stuart Broad. He has also equalled the tally of Glenn McGrath of 29 5-wicket hauls in the longest format of the game.