5 variations in Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling
Spin bowling is one of the most difficult arts in the game of cricket and the Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is a master at it. He has been at the peak of his abilities in the last few years and showcased some of the finest spin bowling the world has ever seen.
He recently achieved the record of being the fastest Indian bowler to 200 Test wickets and the second fastest overall. The 30-year old has been the most prolific bowler for India across all formats off late and the Indian team is doing wonders with his presence.
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This is especially apparent in Test cricket, where he has won a number of matches for India with his masterful bowling. He even recently became the player with most number of Man of the Series awards from the country taking his tally to a total of 6.
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It is always a sheer delight for any cricket fan to watch him in operation with his wonderful variations which have made him perhaps the best spinner of the modern era. He has a bag full of tricks which he uses to run through the opposition.
Here are the 5 different types of deliveries that Ashwin bowls.
#1 Off-spin
This is the most conventional delivery that Ashwin bowls which turns from off to leg for a right-handed batsman. Unlike the most other off-spinners who use both the index as well as the middle finger, he uses only the index finger to deliver the ball. There are two variants of his off-spinners, one that has more over-spin and the other with more side-spin.
The over-spin is used mostly when he tosses the ball up and above the batsman’s eye-line to induce a lofted drive. The revolutions on the ball are more towards the fine leg/leg slip and bounces more as compared to the other one which catches the top edge more often than not and ends up in the fielder’s hands.
On the other hand, the side-spin is bowled with a bit more pace by undercutting the ball and the revolutions are more towards the square leg. Many times, he mixes this delivery up with the other one to fox the batsman with pace and traps him in front of the wicket.