Ravichandran Ashwin has been better with bat than ball in World T20 Cup

The performance of Ravichandran Ashwin may be considered just about par for the course with the ball barring the match against the Netherlands but he has displayed admirably cool temperament with the bat in the ongoing ICC mens T20 World Cup here in Australia The most talked about leave down the leg side has been credited to the 36yearold feisty off spinner cum lower order batter from Tamil Nadu in this tournament Showing timely presence of mind Ashwin allowed what was supposed to be the last ball from Pakistan left arm spinner Nawaz Mohammed go past him down the leg without trying to swat itAlso Read Matthew Wade Hopefully it doesnrsquot cost usAshwins decision to ignore that ball earned a crucial wide run for the Indian team which levelled the scores of the teams at 159 each in the campaign opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground here on October 23This was followed by a scoop shot off the last legal ball of the game by Ashwin with a straight bat over the infielders to take India home to a sensational comefrombehind fourwicket victory over their archrivals in front of 93000odd spectatorsEarlier the tall bowler who has taken 69 wickets in 63 T20 International since his debut in June 2010 against Zimbabwe at Harare conceded 23 runs in three wicketless oversWhen India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey was asked at a subsequent press conference what conversation did the management have with Ashwin before he went out to bat he said adding It is the other way around When it comes to Ashwin it is him who tells us that this is what I am going to do It is just the way he isAgainst the Netherlands in Indias next match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 27 Ashwin grabbed 212 to help restrict the opposition to 123 for 9 chasing Indias 179 for 2Then came Ashwins thirdworst performance ever in a T20I when he was hit for 43 runs in four overs against South Africa on a fast bowlers track in Perth He had conceded 48 runs for a single wicket in his second T20I way back in June 2010In only one other game had he given away more than 40 runs in his quota of overs against Australia at Rajkot when he got hammered for 41 without a single wicket to his nameThe senior spinner could have got another wicket too against South Africa that of Aiden Markram but the catch was put down by Virat Kohli in the deep Ashwins cameo of 13 not out off 6 balls inclusive of a six and a four which proved important in the end against Bangladesh in the rainhit match at the Adelaide Oval as India won by five runs by the DLS method Ashwin has an overall Economy Rate of 688 which is impressive while he has a strike rate of just over 20 with the ball and an average of 235 runs per wicket His batting stats in T20Is is also not bad aided by several not outsNow tomorrow he will be up against Zimbabwe for the first time in more than ten years in what could be his final T20I against the African nationAlso Read Wersquoll put pressure on India from very first ball Zimbabwe coach HoughtonAshwin was clearly not a preferred bowler in white ball cricket under the regime of Kohli and Ravi Shastri head coach after a flop show with the ball 070 in 10 overs against Pakistan in the final of the 50over ICC Champions Trophy against Pakistan on June 18 2017 He did play two more ODIs in the West Indies immediately afterwards and one isolated T20I against the Caribbean team the next year but was in the wilderness in white ball cricket for four years till he forced his way back in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAEHe has played only two ODIs since mid2016 against South Africa in the latters backyard in 2022In the UAE last year in the T20 World Cup Ashwin was not fielded against Pakistan and New Zealand but then got to play in three subsequent matches against Afghanistan Scotland and Namibia till India made their exit before reaching the semisSince then he has been in and out of the T20 playing eleven but the team management with skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid at the helm has kept faith with him and included him in the eleven for four straight matches in AustraliaHe was named even as a lone front line spinner in the game against South Africa when Axar Patel was left out Third spinner Yuzvendra Chahal significantly has not played in a single tie hereAshwin who was part of the 2011 World Cup winning team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a backup for Harbhajan Singh has now perhaps his last chance to finish as a member of the World T20 Cup winning team too if India go all the wayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever