"Over-smart Ashwin is getting beaten by a part time batsman" - Fans react to RR spinner's wayward and disastrous spell vs KKR IPL 2024 clashÂ
Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a forgettable outing in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
Ashwin conceded 49 runs off four overs after employing a very defensive approach against the high-flying Sunil Narine, which did not yield any results. The off-spinner was introduced into the attack in the eighth over and was hit for consecutive fours by Narine, both through the off side.
Usually very potent against left-handed batters, Ashwin could not use the matchup against Narine. The opening batter continued his dominance over the off-spinner by scoring three boundaries off the third over of his spell.
Ravichandran Ashwin's last over was a flurry of wides and boundaries and his spell unsurprisingly ended with no wickets since he was not even close to looking for it from the first ball.
Twitter was highly critical of Ashwin's rather fearful bowling, and more so because that approach did not help RR's case.
Here are some of the reactions:
A few other fans also fired shots at Ravichandran Ashwin for his below-par outing with the ball.
"Over-smart Ashwin is getting beaten by a part time batsman, kaise din aa gaye hai," one user tweeted.
"Ashwin is having some serious ego clash with Narine and he is losing badly," another tweet read.
"Never Saw Ashwin such clueless for a long long time. Literally shivering lol," one user remarked.
R Ashwin has only picked up one wicket in IPL 2024 with an economy rate of 9.08
Ravichandran Ashwin is having a horrid IPL campaign while his spin partner Yuzvendra Chahal is currently brandishing the Purple Cap. The veteran spinner's sole wicket in the tournament came in RR's season opener against LSG, and he is now on a five-match streak without a scalp.
Ashwin missed the encounter against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) due to a niggle, but even a break from the proceedings has not helped his form.
Ashwin had conceded 40 runs without a wicket in his previous match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at home. He had conceded 17 runs off his final over, which arguably brought the Shubman Gill-led side back into the contest.
RR do have another right-arm off-spinner in the form of Tanush Kotian. However, the replacement player was surprisingly used as an opening batter and not as a bowler in the last-over win against PBKS.