Heraclitus of Ephesus coined the world-famous quote 'change is the only constant' in his book Fragments around 580 BC. The Ancient Greek philosopher asserted that life always remains in a dynamic state of flux. Centuries later, Sir Benjamin Franklin's interpretation applied the finishing touches to the abstract gospel. He was of the view that individuals who are not averse to adaptation reign supreme, even in the most testing of times. Cricket didn't exist back then, but if you glance around in today's day and age for the disciples of these doctrines, Ravichandran Ashwin fits the bill.
Ashwin, the off-spinning son of India's soil embraces change. He thrives on experimentation. Trial and error are his partners in crime. Since his debut for India nearly a decade ago, Ashwin has been more than willing to learn and broaden his horizons. It's the conscientious cycle of invention that has allowed him to keep the label of a one-trick pony at arm's length. Right from tweaking his bowling action for biomechanical purposes to familiarising his fingers with variations like the carrom ball and doosra, the empiric that is Ashwin is forever on the lookout for new strings to his bow.
It is not a one-size-fits-all approach that works for the tweaker as he goes about plying his trade in conditions polar opposite to each other. While the subcontinental minefields provide a fertile breeding ground for his craft, featherbeds in SENA countries are a different kettle of fish altogether. They barely erode over the course of five days and factors like wind and its direction come into the picture. And hence, staying true to his analytical reputation, Ashwin shifted his focus towards imparting more overspin on the ball from the very moment he hit the straps at Drummoyne Oval for the first of two warm-up games a couple of weeks ago. This was his fourth Test tour Down Under and the experienced campaigner knew for a fact that sweat shed in training would be inversely proportional to the blood lost in battle.
So, when Steve Smith fell prey to Ashwin's away-drifter in his first bite at the cherry in the series opener, it was merely the coming together of a plan concocted well in advance. What followed was a celebratory sprint that would have put even Imran Tahir to shame. India had netted the big fish courtesy of their lynchpin's meticulous methods which involve a thorough examination of the rival camp and immaculate attention to detail in terms of his own operation.
To understand the nuts and bolts of Smith's surrender, it's imperative to shed light on the two deliveries leading to his dismissal. For, it was the lull which had eventually precipitated the storm. On both occasions, Smith lunged forward to defend the ball only to be beaten in the flight as each of them landed a tad short than where he had expected it to. The master batsman did however have the time and composure to adjust enough to stay out of harm's way.
However, having been gulled by the guile twice in a row, Smith's defence mechanism was to then slump back in his crease for the third delivery and fancy negating it off from there. But here's where the alter ego of the top-spinner arrived to the fore as it spat a bit off the surface and kissed the shoulder of the bat en route to the secured locker of Ajinkya Rahane at slip. And what better stamp of approval than the victim himself doffing his hat to your area of expertise.
"I just nicked one that didn’t spin, unfortunately, that happens sometimes. I thought it was pretty well bowled, to be honest. The two balls prior spun a bit and got a bit grip of the wicket and the next one was kind of sidespin which skidded off. I didn’t play as well as I would have liked. It was some decent bowling,” a gracious-in-defeat Smith was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Playing in Australia and playing in India is a bit different; the ball doesn't spin as much as it spins in India. He is a good bowler, he has played a lot of cricket now. He is a world-class performer," he expressed.
"I know he got the better of me the other day; hopefully, I will learn something and move forward and play him a little bit better in the next game," Smith further added.
Smith wasn't the lone puppet to submit to Ashwin's double bluff. Travis Head and Cameron Green too either misjudged the length or the trajectory of the ball. And it had to do a lot with how magnificently he was getting the ball to dip on the batsmen.
Given the geeky nerd he is, Ashwin obviously dons his thinking cap on before even being called for bowling duties. You can see him absorbing it all in from his fielding position, whether it's at mid-off or anywhere in the square for that matter. If he's not shadow-practising his action or having a chat with himself, he's keenly jotting down mental notes of how the batsmen are moving in their crease and accordingly frames the field placements in his mind for when he'll be asked to roll his arm over.
Cynics have for long been of the opinion that Ashwin's relentless pursuit of innovation is both a boon and a bane as it disrupts his inherent skill-set and leads to diminished potency of his stock ball. But he has turned a deaf ear for good. The leg-break and carrom ball are being honed behind the scenes and might come out of the garage anytime soon.
Ashwin is not someone who'll be content with what he has. Grateful, but never satisfied. It's the burning desire to improve and improvise that sets him apart from the crowd. Beware Australia, for the most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.
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