‘When the ball turns, no bowler is more dangerous than Ravichandran Ashwin’ – Ishant Sharma praises veteran spinner following latter’s fifer in Dominica Test

Ravi Ashwin and Ishant Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Veteran India pacer Ishant Sharma heaped praise on Ravichandran Ashwin following the latter’s brilliant spell on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test against the West Indies at Windsor Park in Dominica. The veteran spinner registered impressive figures of 5/60 as the tourists bundled out the West Indies for a mere 150 runs. Conversely, India finished Day 1 at 80/0, with the new opening duo of Rohit Sharma (30*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (40*) at the crease.

When asked about his thoughts on Ashwin’s fifer, Ishant stated that Ashwin made full use of the conditions on offer, claiming that the ball had begun to spin. No bowler is more scary than Ashwin when the ball turns, according to the 34-year-old seamer.

“The conditions were also very supportive for Ashwin because the ball had started to spin. When the ball turns, no bowler is more dangerous than Ashwin. When the ball turns even slightly, he knows what line to bowl and how to vary his pace, because of which he picked up five wickets,” Ishant said during a discussion on JioCinema.

The best thing was the line Ashwin bowled and he mixed his pace very well: Ishant Sharma

Ishant was then questioned about what was the highlight of Ashwin’s spell. The right-arm seamer continued by saying that the 36-year-old exploited the rough effectively, whether it was to the left-handers or the right-hander and these things are a hallmark of an efficient bowler.

“The best thing was the line he bowled and he mixed his pace very well. He didn’t bowl at one pace. So it becomes very difficult for the batters to read that. He started with the sliders and then tossed one up.

“He used the rough very well, whether it was to the left-handers or the right-handers. When he was bowling slow to the right-handers, he was bowling wide of the stumps. All these things are a sign of a good bowler, how he reads the wicket, from where he can get the turn. So Ashwin did all these things very well,” he added.

With an impressive delivery, Ashwin dismissed Tagenarine Chanderpaul to begin his wicket-taking run, followed that up by claiming the Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite. His subsequent dismissals of Alzarri Joseph, Alick Athanaze, and Jomel Warrican helped him claim a five-wicket haul.