Published: Jan 27, 2016, 08:50 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 27, 2016, 02:05 AM (IST)
India cruised to a 37-run win against Australia in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) of the three-match series at Adelaide. Plenty of Indians can be credited for the victory and most certainly there were candidates in the Indian camp who were more responsible for the win than Ravichandran Ashwin can claim to be. Yet Ashwin’s performances in the circumstances are right up there with some of his best. It was a story of a mini comeback for him having been dropped in the One-Day International (ODI) series. He will be very pleased with his performance and more importantly it bodes well for India’s chances in the imminent ICC World T20 2016. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Australia 2015-16, 1st T20I at Adelaide
There were doubts cast over Ashwin’s effectiveness during the ODI series where not only did he fail to pick too many wickets but was also unreasonably expensive. He was dropped after the second ODI and not called back thereafter. ALSO READ: India thrash Australia by 37 runs in 1st T20I at Adelaide
He was gifted an opportunity at redemption in the first T20I of the series and he did not disappoint. Initial signs were that he had made a mess of the opportunity but he came back in stellar fashion. The ceaselessly innovative MS Dhoni threw him the ball in the second over and the move proved a disaster. Ashwin got no purchase with the pink Kookaburra and was smashed for 17 runs. Wisdom prevailed and Dhoni took him out of the attack. FULL UPDATES: India vs Australia 2015-16, 1st T20I at Adelaide
He was reintroduced in the ninth over with the ball more assistive and the pitch starting to offer some grip. Ashwin metamorphosed into a different beast. He became a threat and instantly dominated the batsmen. His first victim in the new spell was perhaps the most priced for India in the entire game. Aaron Finch was scoring fluently at 44 but was trapped leg before before further damage.
In his final over Ashwin removed Shane Watson, another big threat. In his second spell the figures read 3-0-11-2. Even adding the 17 runs he got smashed for in his first over, his figures are still very good by T20I standards.
Ashwin has proven that he is a tough competitor and getting dropped has only done his inner-fire some fuelling which is always welcome. The ICC World T20 2016 is approaching and India will play that tournament will be played at home. The frequency with which Ashwin will get supporting surfaces will be far more. The guileful off-spinner will prove invaluable to India’s campaign.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)
