Ravichandran Ashwin "Plays With Batsman's Mind": Ex India Captain On What Sets Star Spinner Apart

Ravichandran Ashwin was at his best in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica where he picked 12 wickets in two innings. It was his eighth 10-wicket match haul, becoming the joint-most by an Indian, alongside Anil Kumble. He is also just one five-wicket haul in Tests behind Kumble's 35. His dozen coupled with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal's 171 enabled India to wrap the proceedings by the third evening. India's highest wicket-taker in Tests and JioCinema expert Anil Kumble praised the off-spinners massive effort, the best for any Indian in West Indies.

"Ashwin plays with the batsmen's mind. It is not just about the skills you have. It is also the ability to transfer pressure onto the batter which you could see in every batter that faced R Ashwin, you could see that in their body language," Kumble said on JioCinema.

 Kumble also observed Ashwin's optimal use of the crease against the home team's left-handers, especially the way he got opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul. "He bowled wide off the crease with the ball coming into the left-hander. Once the left-hander thought the balls will come in is when Ashwin bowled that beautiful delivery to Chanderpaul which just drifted in and left him and took the off stump," he said.

Ashwin on Saturday also surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become the second-highest wicket-taker for India in international cricket. The veteran spinner recorded one of his finest away performances, taking 5/60 in the first innings and 7/71 in the second innings to finish with a combined figure of 12/131. With this performance. Ashwin has 709 wickets in 271 international matches.

The former India captain and coach also praised Ashwin's ability to read the pitch and bowl accordingly. The second Test between India and West Indies starts on July 20.

With ANI inputs

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Ravichandran Ashwin India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team West Indies vs India, 2023 Cricket