KINGSTON: R Ashwin might have been a bit fortuitous in getting his first wicket, but luck had nothing to do with the way he dismantled the West Indies’ middle order to get his second five-wicket haul in the series on Saturday.
That he was called into action as early as the 13th over was surprising on a pitch that offered plenty to fast bowlers. But the moisture helped him get turn straightaway. This series has already been good to Ashwin — two five-wicket hauls and a century.
“It’s put the team in a great position and a first-day five-wicket haul is something you should cherish. But I have done it a few times before and am pretty pleased at having achieved it again,” he said.
“Like a batsman wants to go out there to get hundred, my intention is to get a five-wicket haul. Once I get that momentum, I try and capitalise through the tournament. Once I pick up a couple of wickets, I’m always looking to hit the five-wicket mark. It’s sort of a psychological thing. It’s sort of a hunger for me, nothing else.”
More than the turn, variation is what made Ashwin tough to handle. Marlon Samuels hit a tossed up delivery for six but the next ball was flatter and dipped, and he was beaten. When Devendra Bishoo was trying to force the pace, a loopy delivery outside off-stump induced him into an early sweep. “Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}More than the turn, variation is what made Ashwin tough to handle. Marlon Samuels hit a tossed up delivery for six but the next ball was flatter and dipped, and he was beaten. When Devendra Bishoo was trying to force the pace, a loopy delivery outside off-stump induced him into an early sweep. “Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Ashwin’s century in Antigua not just helped India gain a huge advantage, it also allowed him to settle down into a good rhythm.
“In the past, and also from experience and other people talking from the commentary box and (in) the media, there’s one thing that’s very clear in my career. If you get wickets, it just makes your job easier to make runs.
“And vice-versa, if you make runs it just pulls a little bit pressure off you, and you go out there and enjoy your bowling and you take wickets. But as of now where I stand, I have got both my departments clearly demarcated. I know what fetches results in which departments. Maybe the methodologies could differ, and it may or may not work, but I definitely have kept it demarcated so that I have a process goal.”
It didn’t come easy. Having counter-attacked the pacers, Jermaine Blackwood had hit Ashwin for a six and four in his second over. “I was really taken aback by the counter-attack. It sort of put the game in the balance. And we broke twice and brought the game back. It’s clearly a game where the experienced side is seizing the more opportune moments.”
Blackwood’s defence, however, wasn’t as good and Ashwin eventually made him pay for that.