"There is a very thin line between confidence and overconfidence" - Aakash Chopra on Rachin Ravindra's dismissal off R Ashwin in IND vs NZ 3rd Test
Aakash Chopra has attributed Ravichandran Ashwin's dismissal of Rachin Ravindra in New Zealand's second innings of the third Test against India to the latter's overconfidence. He pointed out that the Kiwi youngster attempted a virtually impossible shot on a turning pitch.
Ravindra was the veteran off-spinner's first victim of the match, stumped by Rishabh Pant for a three-ball four. New Zealand ended Day 2 (Saturday, November 2) at 171/9, with a lead of 143 runs.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra was asked about his thoughts on Ashwin's spell. As for Ravindra's dismissal, he said:
"There is a very thin line between confidence and overconfidence, and that is what happened with him. Rachin Ravindra hit a four off the previous delivery. To jump down the track and try and meet the ball halfway wasn't going to be possible, not on this surface, especially when the ball was turning away, and you had only four runs in your account."
The former India opener noted that the turning pitch helped the wily spinner dismiss Glenn Phillips and Will Young with carrom balls.
"You hadn't even played four deliveries in total. So that job was difficult. There was different bounce as well on that delivery. After that, both the big wickets actually came with carrom balls, which wasn't used that much. If a carrom ball turns like a leg-cutter, you know there is a lot of help available, or else the carrom ball doesn't turn like that," Chopra observed.
"If the carrom ball turns five-and-a-half to six degrees, you have an issue. The only good thing about it is that the Indian bowlers can exploit it better. They can bowl consistently at one spot. It is in India's favor that if pressure is put on the opposition bowlers, they might crumble, which you can't do with India. You cannot completely dismantle this spin attack on such a pitch," he added.
Ashwin castled Phillips (26 off 14) with a carrom ball. He then took a return catch to dismiss Young (51 off 100) with a similar delivery.
"Ashwin has another specialty" - Aakash Chopra on the line of the carrom balls
![Will Young was very disappointed after offering a tame return catch to R Ashwin. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/fe1f4-17305552362992-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra noted that the line of Ravichandran Ashwin's carrom balls helped him deceive Glenn Phillips and Will Young more than the turn.
"Ashwin has another specialty. Whether you see Glenn Phillips or Will Young's wicket, of course, you need to see the carrom ball from the hand, which they didn't, but the ball was pitching almost on the leg stump line or outside it," he said.
"If it pitches there, nine out of 10 batters, especially those who are not specialists against spin, end up playing like that. Of course, reading the ball from the hand is out of fashion, but I thought the line was more important than the turn because the line forced them to play bad shots," the reputed commentator added.
Ashwin registered figures of 3/63 in 16 overs. Ravindra Jadeja (4/52) was India's most successful bowler on Day 2, with Akash Deep and Washington Sundar picking up a wicket apiece.