"His record in India is sensational": Mark Butcher on R Ashwin
Mark Butcher believes R Ashwin could be a massive danger for England after his six-wicket haul in the second innings of the first Test.
R Ashwin was the highest wicket-taker across both teams in the series-opener in Chennai. He followed up his three wickets in the first innings with six in England's second essay.
During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Mark Butcher observed that R Ashwin's six-wicket haul in the second innings could stand him in good stead for the rest of the series.
"He is a fabulous bowler, end of story. I don't really have much to add to that. His record in India is sensational; he is certainly no slouch away from home either. The fact that he picked up six wickets in the second innings would have given him an enormous amount of confidence," said Butcher.
The former England batsman pointed out that R Ashwin could be a huge threat for the Joe Root-led side in the remainder of the series, especially if India score big in their first innings.
"If India do end up winning the toss and batting first, they could put 500-600 on the board. Then it is going to be very very tough for England. However toss is 50-50, so England could win it again. But R Ashwin should be in good form. Hopefully, his fingers aren't too badly damaged by Jofra Archer. He is going to be a massive danger to England going forward," added Butcher.
"R Ashwin did not have the support in the spin department" - Mark Butcher
Mark Butcher observed that Team India sorely missed the services of Ravindra Jadeja in the first Test in Chennai.
"I was actually asked before the series started about whom both teams might miss in this series. And I said that Ravindra Jadeja is the most important player in these conditions for India, and I think that has been borne out by what we have seen," said Butcher.
The 48-year-old reasoned that R Ashwin would have been even more lethal with the control provided by Ravindra Jadeja from the other end, something which Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem could not.
"R Ashwin did not have the support in the spin department that he would have had if Jadeja had been there. The game would have taken a lot longer for England to score the runs that they needed in the first innings because Jadeja goes at one and a half to two runs an over, and things would have been very very different had he been here. Kohli said we can't worry about who is not here, but he is a massive miss," concluded Butcher.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja indeed are a very lethal spin-bowling pair for India in home conditions. The duo has scalped 348 wickets in 33 home Tests they have played together, doing so at an excellent average of 21.71.