Cheteshwar Pujara on R Ashwin: brilliant, relentless, always learning،
Imagine you are facing R Ashwin.
As a hitter, the basic challenge begins with his raised arm action, which creates a little more bounce than spinners who are not tall. The key to defending any good spinner is to get the upper hand on the ball, especially when you are looking to defend on the front foot, otherwise you end up allowing the spinner room to deceive you and dominate. The challenge most batters face against Ash is that when you feel like you are getting the upper hand on the ball, he plays the middle length where you don't know whether to bowl on the front foot or on the left. 'back. And then we end up not choosing the right length. And even if you come out of the crease, he'll throw it to a length where you can't drive easily.
With the loop and drift that Ash can generate, you are tasked with defeating an opponent whose mission is to confuse your mind and make you make mistakes.
There is no respite. If you are comfortable hitting against him over the stumps, he will change to round the stumps, from where he is able to create that angle where, if the ball goes straight, there is an advantage in play even if you're looking to defend. .
He puts a lot of effort into every delivery. He does not only seek to present it; he puts his body behind the ball. That's why he gets those revs, and on some pitches, because of those revs, even though the ball isn't spinning, it's moving away from the right-hander, but it's going at a speed where, if you're a little late, you pay the price.
“It's easy to assume that as a leader, especially on home courts, Ash will deliver most of the time. But the pressure of that expectation can be immense.”
Reading hitters has always been a key part of what Ash does. He is always one step ahead, attentive to the slightest signals. He’s constantly watching the hitter, his trigger, where the backlift is coming from, what stump it’s on. So if a batter is looking to sweep, Ash will go a little further and try to block him by playing the quickest delivery, almost a yorker length, and get an lbw. Ideally, as a batter, you will read the ball once the bowler releases it and then determine your shot, but few batters have the ability to do this.
No detail is too small for his quick mind. He has previously spoken about how he obsessively pored over Steve Smith videos months before India's tour of Australia in 2020-21. Before the Melbourne Test, I remember we hatched the plan to have a leg in the gully against Smith because there was a bit of humidity, which made the ball stick a bit. And that's the reason why Ash ended up bowling with the new ball. Part of the plan also called for him to go around the stumps to create the angle. And the plan worked: I caught Smith at the leg ravine.
I also had the privilege of closely enjoying Ash's duels against Joe Root, another excellent player of spin. If you look at his record, Root has always been a proactive hitter – he will either try to play the sweep or reverse sweep, or rotate the strike so he doesn't have to face six balls from a particular bowler. I'm not saying Root doesn't defend well, but overall his game plan is to put the bowlers under pressure.
To counter this, Ashwin's tactic was to keep Root on strike by removing the short leg or other close fielders, allowing only one slip and placing a fielder at square leg to prevent the simple. It doesn't matter if you're playing on a flat field or a returner, Ash wants Root to defend those six balls and see how he reacts. Even on a slow pitch, where the ball might not slip, I've seen Ash keep a short third and a deep point just to block Root – or any other hitter who plays the reverse sweep. It's a battle of wills between two top players, making it a gripping contest.
When you're playing the longer format, bowling fitness is the most important thing, and Ash is probably one of the fittest I've known. If he ends up bowling 30, 35, 40 overs a day, when he plays again the next morning his body might be a little tired, but he will still have the stamina to keep going. He wants to wake up and do it again and again.
This doesn't happen without hard work or bowling countless bowling balls in practice. Ash is very specific about this. He knows how to prepare before a series, whether in India or abroad.
We became close friends while talking about cricket. Most of the time we're on the same side, but you can never win an argument against him. He is very intelligent and his vocabulary is probably among the best in the cricket fraternity. (I know he says the same thing about me: that I'm someone who will never give up in an argument.)
But Ash isn't a sore loser. We play table tennis and tennis – two things I like to have an edge on him in! – and it's a good sport.
I wish I had his incredible memory. It's probably because he has a mind that's always on the move. Outside of cricket, he is a voracious reader, enjoys playing online chess and is open to learning new things. He has evolved and survived for a long time despite playing in multiple formats, and this is mainly due to his innovative spirit: he is not afraid or hesitant to try new things, even at the cost of failing in the process.
The first time I saw him was, if memory serves me correctly, at an under-17 tournament organized by the National Cricket Academy, where he was playing alongside Anirudh Srikanth. [the former Tamil Nadu batter]. Both then played as opening hitters. As we now know, Ash is a very capable hitter. There is no doubt that his match-winning knock and spell at Chepauk in 2021 should be cherished, but his exploits in the 2021 Sydney Test, where he batted with a sore back, will be talked about for a long time. He replaced me after the first drinks break after tea on the fifth day as India fought for a draw. I remember him telling me at tea not to worry and that he would strike despite his back.
When you have back pain, it's very difficult to get off the ball, especially the bouncer, because you can't duck properly. Sometimes even defending against spinners is more difficult, because you have to take a big step. But he once struck Hanuma admirably [Vihari]who had torn his hamstring, struggled during the initial period of their partnership.
In addition to achieving individual races, he contributed to valuable partnerships. Take our position from the opening rounds in 2018 in Adelaide, which was crucial to our series-setting Test win.
As for my favorite test involving Ash, there are too many to name just one. There's Bangalore 2017. Adelaide 2018. Sydney 2021. All against Australia. Overall, and Ash would agree, those of us who played the Bangalore Test think it ranks among the most memorable.
Australia were 1-0 entering the match, and India fell behind immediately after Nathan Lyon took our first innings with eight wickets. It was not the typical Chinnaswamy pitch which generally tends to be flatter, at least in the first innings. In this test, the bounce was variable and the pitch was useful to the spinners from day one. Australia had the upper hand for most of the Test, although we took it out in the second innings to set a target of 188.
The pressure was on Ash to deliver in this fourth inning. It's never easy when you know you have a very small total to defend. And while each bowler was active, it was his spell that proved crucial. He picked up six wickets. It's easy to assume that as a leader, especially on the field and under favorable conditions, he will deliver most of the time. But the pressure of this expectation can be immense.
Having just become the second fastest bowler to 500 Test wickets, Ash now deserves another equally important milestone – of 100 Tests. It's probably a little late for various reasons. But I'm really happy for him. He is someone who has always been ready to take on challenges and accomplish the most difficult tasks for the team. He deserves it the most.
