Which West Indian batter has gotten out to Ravichandran Ashwin the most time in Tests?
Seasoned Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be key to the side's fortunes during the Test series in West Indies, which begins on Wednesday, July 12, at Windsor Park in Dominica. The No. 1 ranked Test bowler has featured in 92 matches so far, claiming 474 wickets at an average of 23.93, with 32 five-fers and seven 10-wicket match hauls.
Against West Indies, he has featured in 11 Test matches so far, picking up 60 scalps at an average of 21.85, with four five-wicket along the way. Ashwin boasts an excellent record against the Windies with the bat as well in Test matches. The 36-year-old has scored 552 runs at an average of 50.18, with as many as four hundreds and a best of 124.
Against West Indies in the Caribbean, he has featured in four Tests, claiming 17 wickets at an average of 23.17, with two five-fers. Two of his four hundreds have come in West Indies - one in North Sound and one in Gros Islet.
West Indian batters Ashwin has dismissed most in Test matches
Ashwin has dismissed not one, but three West Indian batters six times each in Test cricket.
Darren Bravo is one of the names on the list. The 34-year-old, who has played 56 Tests for West Indies, has featured in nine Tests against India with Ashwin in the opposition. In these games, he has scored 643 runs at an average of 37.82, with two hundreds.
The two first came face-to-face during Ashwin’s debut Test in November 2011 in Delhi. Bravo, in fact, was Ashwin’s first wicket in Test matches, cleaned up for 12 with quick off-break. He dismissed the left-hander in the second innings as well, trapping the left-hander lbw from round the wicket.
The Indian off-spinner dismissed Bravo once again in the second innings of the Kolkata Test in November 2013. Ashwin had him caught at point for 37 with a pitched-up delivery.
In the very next Test, the Indian spinner had Bravo caught behind for 29 in the first innings and at slip for 11 in the second essay. Ashwin had the Windies southpaw for the sixth time in Tests when he cleaned up the batter for 10 in the 2016 Port of Spain Test in which only 22 overs were possible.
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Ashwin also got the better of Kieran Powell six times in Test matches. Powell played six Tests against India with Ashwin in the opposite camp and struggled to pick the off-spinner. In these six games, he managed only 333 runs at an average of 27.75, with a best of 83.
The left-hander was caught at cover off Ashwin for a duck in the second innings of the 2011 Delhi Test. In the second essay of the Mumbai Test during the same series, Ashwin had the left-hander lbw for 11 with a length ball that went on with the arm. He again trapped Powell lbw for 36 with a flighted delivery in the 2013 Kolkata Test.
In the second innings of the 2013 Mumbai Test, Powell (9) lofted Ashwin straight to long-off. The Indian offie again got the better of the Windies opener in both innings of the Hyderabad Test in 2018. Powell was caught at cover for 22 in the first innings and at slip for a duck in the second.
Marlon Samuels also failed to make much of an impact against the guile of Ashwin. Like Bravo and Powell, he too fell to the canny bowler six times in Test matches. Samuels played in nine Tests against India with Ashwin in the playing XI, scoring 436 runs at an average of 27.25.
Ashwin dismissed Samuels in both innings of his debut Test in 2011. In the first innings, Samuels was caught behind off a slider for 15. In the second innings, he was knocked over for a duck, foxed by the carrom ball. Ashwin had the Windies batter lbw for a well-constructed 84 in the second essay of the 2011 Kolkata Test.
In the third Test of the 2011 series in Mumbai, Ashwin again outdid Samuels with the carrom ball. This time Samuels was caught at slip for 61.
After West Indies were made to follow on in the 2016 Test in North Sound, the Indian spinner ended Samuels’ resistance for 50, deceiving him with a tossed-up delivery. Ashwin next had the West Indies batter caught at short leg for 37 in the first innings of the 2016 Kingston Test.
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Ashwin will be keen to increase his wicket-tally significantly as India face West Indies in the first Test in Dominica starting July 12.