Ashwin, the incredible

Updated On: 06 March, 2024 07:05 AM IST | Dharamsala | R Kaushik

Having constantly focussed on evolution and self-betterment, now on the verge of his landmark 100th Test, India’s veteran off-spinner sums it all up as ‘a wonderful journey filled with ups and downs and a lot of learnings’

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India offie R Ashwin during a fielding practice session at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala yesterday. Pic/PTI

This is fast turning out to be a series of centuries—not just with the bat, but in terms of cricketers playing their 100th Test matches. The third Test in Rajkot marked England captain Ben Stokes’s 100th appearance. The final Test of a series that India have already clinched 3-1, beginning at the picture-perfect HPCA Stadium on Friday, will see his compatriot Jonny Bairstow and Indian spinning ace R Ashwin gatecrash that club.

Process is key

There is plenty of brouhaha surrounding the 37-year-old Ashwin, but none of that is emanating from the eloquent off-spinner. Ashwin is a big fan of the process and therefore it’s not hard to understand his equanimity ahead of what, by all accounts, is a monumental accomplishment for the engineer from Chennai.
Until England’s second innings in the fourth Test in Ranchi when he picked up a five-for, Ashwin had had a quiet series, rudely interrupted by a quick dash to Chennai following a family emergency, hours after he had become just the second Indian to reach 500 wickets on Day Two of the third Test in Rajkot. He couldn’t have asked for a better setting in which to earn just rewards for his longevity and unquestioned skill—the snow-capped Dhauladhar mountain range standing magnificent witness to a career of massive highs.

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