Ravichandran Ashwin repaid selectors’ faith of taking the bold decision to include him in the squad after four years of absence from the T20I side. Ashwin presented his case to be picked in the playing XI with solid performances in warm-up games before T20 World Cup 2021, but including mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy looked like a better option for the team management in the first two matches. Against Afghanistan, a side which plays quality spinners in their own team, Ashwin proved that there is still some mystery left in him to dominate in this format.
Ashwin preyed on desperate Afghans in the middle overs. The off-spinners did not bowl stock deliveries to get his wickets. Against Gulbadin Naib, Ashwin went wide off the crease to create the angle to deceive the batter who was going for a sweep shot. Not just the angle, he bowled it fuller to prevent Naib from getting underneath the ball and hit him over deep mid-wicket.
Ashwin knows that his off-spin deliveries variations are not the way to go in the fast-paced format. In the next over, Najibullah Zadran tried to play him as a traditional off-spinner and use the reverse sweep to pierce the off-side field. Once again, Ashwin bowled it fuller to the left-handed batter who could not pick the line or length.
The 35-year-old did not just take wickets in the middle overs. He did not get hit for a single boundary in his four-over spell. He conceded just 14 runs from four overs, one of the most economical spells he has ever bowled in T20I cricket.
While Virat Kohli said at the coin toss that Chakravarthy missed out on the Afghanistan game due to a niggle in his left calf, it is unlikely that India will go back to him in the upcoming games against Scotland and Namibia where India need to big again.
