Kolkata: Back in the 1980’s, India’s bowling rested on the shoulders of a young Kapil Dev. Running in and hitting the deck hard with an energetic action, Kapil’s deadly out-swingers proved to be a daunting challenge for any batsman on any pitch, especially at home, and there’s no wonder as to why India’s first World Cup winning skipper finished with a total of 434 Test wickets, with 23 five-wicket hauls to his name. He was the man to look up to whenever the Indian team required some magic with the ball and thus he established himself to be one of India’s most feared paceman at that time.
However as the years have rolled by, India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken over the mantle of the Indian bowling as he went past the legendary all-rounder’s record of 63 wickets in a single season of Test cricket. Ashwin, the number one Test bowler now has a total 64 victims to his name, in a single season of Test cricket at home.
The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu emerged globally in 2011 when he made his debut against the West Indies. Ever since then, he hasn’t looked back and has established himself as one of the world’s greatest tweakers of the cricket ball. With his ability to extract sharp turn and bounce, especially on Indian tracks, Ashwin has been the go-to man whenever his captain, be it Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Virat Kohli needed a breakthrough.
Gaining new heights in international cricket, the off-spinner has been on a rampage with the ball in recent times as just a few days back, he surpassed the likes of legends like Dennis Lillee and contemporaries like Dale Steyn when he became the fastest to 250 Test wickets. He got to the mark in just 45 innings as compared to Lillee’s 48.
So much has been his dominance in the game so far that no bowler has taken more wickets in international cricket since the time he made his debut. In the current Test season, he has carried on with his terrific form with the red cherry. A total of 27 wickets in India’s 3-0 victory over the Kiwis last year, 28 scalps in a 4-0 drubbing of England and six wickets against neighbours Bangladesh in the one-off Test match added to his credentials as he justified his top spot in the ICC Test bowler rankings.
And with the wicket of Mitchell Starc early on in the second day’s play, of the first test between India and Australia, Ashwin once again proved as to why he was the leader of the Indian bowling contingent as he went past Indian legends like Anil Kumble, Bishan Singh Bedi and his fellow teammate Ravindra Jadeja in becoming the highest wicket-taker for India in a single test season. The numbers in his wicket column would only increase from here on as the offie still has to bowl in seven more innings before the India’s season of Test cricket at home comes to an end.
A major architect of India’s success in Test cricket in recent times apart from captain Kohli, Ashwin has time and again proved that he is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to bowling on Indian pitches. Matching Kapil’s talent with the bat too, Ashwin has proved that he can put up a fight with the willow, whenever the team requires.
And whenever the team is in troubled waters, it is every captain’s dream to have someone of Ashwin’s calibre in the side. With an exceptional ability to ‘turn’ a game on its head, it is only an upward journey for the 30-year old going further into what has been an illustrious career so far. And one can, without a doubt say that he is the pillar of the Indian bowling now.
(With inputs from Agencies)