Australia‘s offspinners took eight wickets in Nagpur. That goes for R Ashwin as well. Ashwin grabbed his eight wickets in just 27.5 overs, taking Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy a combined 96 overs. The Aussies’ strike rate was one wicket for every 72 balls, whereas Ashwin’s was one for every 21 balls. Lyon, Murphy, and Ashwin all bowled on the same pitch, which may have deteriorated over time and proved extremely difficult to bat on by the time Australia started their second innings. Hence, it’s curious that Ashwin appeared so lethal while Australia’s offspinners were very easy to deal with. The benefit of playing at home, naturally, plays a significant role. As a result of his extensive familiarity with the surroundings, Ashwin was able to spot potential hazards. Ashwin was able to figure out how to bowl on this pitch quickly and immediately make the fine adjustments he needed because he had played on pitches like this during his previous 51 Tests and 94 first-class games in India. In contrast, Australia’s spinners only had a broad idea of how they needed to bowl on Indian pitches.
It was Lyon’s eighth Test and tenth first-class game in India, while it was Murphy’s first. Against Australia on Saturday, Ashwin made a determined attempt to bowl full and encourage drives from the Aussie batters. Usman Khawaja drove Ashwin for four in the first over he bowled, then Khawaja edged to slip off the next delivery as Ashwin got a similar-looking ball to drop on him and spin sharply. Star Sports’ postgame post featured an interview with Ashwin in which the former India head coach Ravi Shastri questioned him about the deliveries. Ashwin told Ravi bhai, “I thought this wicket was sluggish.” This surface has been sluggish, and the batsman needs to be encouraged to drive the ball. “I’ve been repeating that the entire Test. It’s not a pitch that could result in a short leg or silly point being ripped off the hands. As a result, offering them a couple of balls to drive would be a practical approach to bait them into taking strokes, which would likely result in them using both halves of the bat.
Ashwin’s fields enticed batters to drive. He persuaded David Warner he could get a pushed or forced single if he so desired by pulling his mid-off to around two-thirds of the way back to the boundary. Ashwin prompted Warner to attempt for a single to shift his bat away from his body and increase his chances of being beaten on either edge. Ashwin needed to bowl fuller to draw these errors, and the massive India lead allowed him to pay the price of the occasional half-volley while aiming for the risky spot just short of a driving length.
It wasn’t like Australia’s offspinners hadn’t attempted total deliveries. They did, and in the first day’s last session, Rohit Sharma struck Lyon for three fours through the offside. Although Lyon and Murphy would have liked to keep trying that attacking length, Australia was bowled out for 177 runs, leaving them without the safety net of runs they would have needed to keep trying it. However, there was also a specific mechanisation to Lyon and Murphy’s persistence, as if they were following a playbook for bowling on Indian surfaces.
Murphy had a stellar debut in India. Given that he had only played seven first-class games before this tour, it was already surprising that he bowled 47 overs at less than three an over and took seven wickets. On his 4th India visit for a Test match, Lyon bowled 49 innings claiming a single wicket. No other player’s effort contributed as much to Australia’s loss in Nagpur as Lyon’s.
Rohit Sharma said about Ashwin, “Due to his extensive set of abilities, he can bring a great deal of value from the pitch. And it’s clear that he’s the type of guy who likes to study and improve his skill to reach new heights.”
Lyon’s threat was significantly reduced on pitches where being bowled or lbw were more likely ways of dismissal than bat-pad catches or edges going to slip.
Ashwin has collected 39 wickets at an average of 42.15 in 10 Tests played in Australia. Lyon’s 32 wickets at an average of 42.40 in those 10 Tests are not particularly noteworthy. Ashwin has outbowled Lyon in India’s most recent two tours to Australia (2018–19 and 2020–21), with an average of 27.50 to Lyon’s 37.83.
Ashwin succeeded in Australia by modifying his style to the local environment. When asked about Ashwin’s performance on Nagpur, Rohit pointed out that he has consistently added new layers to his skillset throughout his career, experimenting even when the world has advised him not to mend something that isn’t broken.
