R Ashwin's length and lack of experimentation brought him success in the series: VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman has attributed R Ashwin's success in the recently concluded series against England to the fuller lengths he bowled and the fact that he didn't resort to too many variations.
The wily off-spinner was the highest wicket-taker in the four-match Test series, with 32 scalps to his credit. This included three 5-wicket hauls, and he also became the second-fastest bowler to 400 Test wickets in the process.
While reviewing the series on Star Sports, VVS Laxman named bowling a fuller length and concentrating on his stock deliveries when asked about the reasons behind R Ashwin's success.
"His length and lack of experimentation. We know he has many options and variations and he uses them a lot as well. But in this series, I felt he bowled further up and bowled very few loose balls or boundary balls. And the variations were less, and whenever he tried them he used to get wickets," said Laxman.
"He showed a lot of confidence in his stock delivery, the off-spinner and that is why he got the results. I feel the control and discipline he showed in his bowling has made him successful," added Laxman.
R Ashwin wanted to enjoy his batting: VVS Laxman
While talking about R Ashwin's century in the second Test in Chennai, VVS Laxman pointed out the 34-year-old seemed to be in the "zone" during that knock.
"Ashwin said that he did not know that he is going to score a century but he wanted to go and enjoy his batting on the challenging wicket. As a batsman, we want to play with the mindset what we call as the 'zone', where you do not think about what happened in the last innings or what is going to happen ahead and you give importance to every delivery and react to it and that was seen in that innings," said Laxman.
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted R Ashwin employed the sweep shot to great effect on the surface. He signed off by stating that it would have been a dream come true for the Chennai boy to put in a brilliant all-round performance on his home turf.
"When you play sweeps or slog sweeps according to the wicket, then the results go in your favour. But he got the hundred because of the positive mindset. It was a memorable innings and what a dream match it was for him in Chennai, his hometown, where he put on a show both with the bat and the ball," concluded Laxman.
R Ashwin was the third-highest run-getter for India in the series, with 189 runs coming from his willow. This included a 106-run knock at Chepauk - his 5th century in the longest version of the game.