A top-class spinner has to be like a chess grandmaster, plotting a batsman’s downfall over a number of deliveries or overs. There has been no one better at it in recent times than off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. There are 501 pieces of evidence to support this argument. Ashwin is not like Mutthiah Muralitharan — who was more like a wrist-spinner in the garb of a finger-spinner.
The Sri Lankan often made batsmen look clueless with the amount of spin he generated, and its direction. Ashwin’s calling card is of a more cerebral nature. He plays with angles, pace and degrees of spin, as also field placement. The batsman knows he is in a battle, and can never afford to take his eye off the ball even if he temporarily enjoys the upper hand.
Conditions and playing surface play a big role in cricket, and they are usually an ally for a spinner in India. But many of Ashwin’s most memorable dismissals have come in England and Australia, where his guile comes to the fore with the track offering him precious little. Among his list of victims are the finest batsmen. He has got the England skipper Ben Stokes 12 times. Other top stars he has repeatedly scalped are David Warner (11), Steve Smith (8), Joe Root (6), Kane Williamson (5) and Kumar Sangakkara (4). Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja may be a more tempting all-round option, but Ashwin’s skill with the ball is more prosaic in nature when compared to his spin-twin.
India have been invincible at home since 2012, when Ashwin was taking his initial steps in Test cricket. While Anil Kumble, with 619 Test wickets, tops the list among Indians, the Magician from Chennai is a worthy second. There is a risk of taking Ashwin’s dominance for granted. He is 37, and is largely a Test specialist these days. India is considered to have a never-ending assembly line of quality spinners, but whether the next generation will have the all-weather love for the contest, once Ashwin hangs up his boots, remains to be seen.
The IT Ministry is taking action against Google for biased responses from its AI platform, including calling PM Modi a fascist. Google has apologized but the government is still issuing a show cause notice. This is not the first time Google’s AI has presented biased answers, and they may face prosecution if their response is unsatisfactory.
