3 reasons why R Ashwin's 2/19 vs RCB was his best spell in IPL history
Rajasthan Royals (RR) veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin put in a serious shift to help his side thwart the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The experienced bowler finished with impressive figures of 2/19 off his four overs and was also adjudged Player of the Match for his efforts.
Ashwin has not had the smoothest of campaigns, with his first nine matches witnessing only two wickets, and a wicket-less streak of six matches in between.
The off-spinner assessed his campaign during the post-match presentation, claiming that it has been 'a season of two halves for him'. He had bowled brilliant spells in Delhi and Chennai, and has extended the momentum into the playoffs as well.
Ashwin's 2/19 is not his best figures from a statistical point of view, it might not even be close. However, considering the context and magnitude of the game and the obstacles he had to overcome, and his overall impact on the result, it might just have been his best.
On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why R Ashwin's 2/19 vs RCB was the best spell in his IPL career.
#1 A brilliant blend of intelligence and experience
Intelligence and experience are two of the most valuable traits franchises look for in a set of their players, and there is barely anyone who uses both to full effect than Ashwin. The off-spinner recently had to bowl in the powerplay, where he made an impact, and this time around, he was asked to seize control of the middle overs with Yuzvendra Chahal.
Although Chahal started his spell quite well, with Kohli's wicket and a tight first over, he could not control the proceedings for the rest of the spell. As a result, the onus was on Ashwin to step up from the other end, and he did so in some style.
His experience with carrom balls have been mixed over the years, but he used it to great effect against the barrage of right-handed RCB batters. While they tried to move around the crease to unsettle the spinner's line, he smartly followed them, not giving them any room to operate at all, this is where the intelligence came in.
Ashwin also largely refrained from fighting the delivery, and trusted the flatter delivery and that bore him great result as well. The batters were often rushed into their strokes and getting to the pitch of the ball and swinging hard was not an option at all.
#2 Ravichandran Ashwin had to overcome so many matchups against him
As mentioned earlier, Ashwin only had right-handed batters to deal with, and nearly all of them were excellent players of spin. From Virat Kohli to Cameron Green to Rajat Patidar, all of them are capable of taking on the spinners and making the middle overs count.
After a shaky powerplay, RCB desperately wanted the middle overs to go their way, but their biggest obstacle was Ashwin. Even if they got some sort of momentum from one over, the veteran spinner would be there to absorb it, and forcing RCB to start all over again.
He even kept the red-hot Rajat Patidar quiet. The right-handed batter has been bashing spinners for fun this season, but was pinned by Ashwin throughout their little battle out in the middle. Ashwin almost had Patidar's wicket as well, but Dhruv Jurel spilled an easy chance running in from the deep.
Furthermore, the surface also did not have much grip or turn on offer, and Ashwin had to rely on his accuracy and innate smartness to get the most out of the situation.
#3 Accounted for arguably the most decisive moment in the game
Faf du Plessis mentioned during the post-match presentation that RCB could not make the push to get the extra 20 runs needed to overcome the dew factor. The biggest reason behind that was potentially R Ashwin's double strike in the 13th over.
RCB looked to set a platform for the remaining batters to come into play, and were poised at 97-2 in the 13th over, with a budding partnership between Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar. Ashwin, however, put pressure on them in his final over with just a couple of singles to begin with.
He dished out yet another well-executed carrom ball, leading to Green's slog effort being caught at cover. The very next ball was another carrom ball that Maxwell's surprisingly tried to take on. He holed out to long on in the process and made life difficult for RCB.
Claiming the well-settled Green and not allowing Maxwell to get into the game at all severely affected RCB's plans for the last phase of the innings. They were denied the luxury of a platform and had to make do with mediocre cameos that led to a mediocre total as well.