satishg

haha DSR you are the greatest Indian cricket fan i have seen over the years in this forum :) Yes we were wrong in suspecting Ashwin but even you have to accept that he was not at his best in the last couple of games but he came back like a champion he is and proved us why even a 60% fit Ashwin is world class. Great show by Ash! Champion stuff!

He still looked like taking wicket out of every over in the 2nd day first session first spell. He could have had Renshaw out with a little bit of luck and even had Steve Smith LBW if not for that useless Nigel Long to say no when it looked more out than the one he gave Kohli out. Obviously Lyon has outbowled and outshined him in this game, but i think the team management thinks that even a 60% fit Ashwin is good enough to take wickets. He is definitely not bowling at his best, maybe Kohli should have him as a containing option and give Jadeja the bulk of bowling in 2nd innings. He needs a big break though after this series, i dont see the team management resting Ashwin for the next 2 matches given the importance of this series.

He himself acknowledged that fact in an interview before the series. He said his injury is not letting him play at 100% and he is not able to get his rythm that easily. So it is difficult for him to sustain the intensity and pressure.

Ashwin's fitness is a major issue here, his sports hernia is not letting him bowl at full tilt and he loses his rhythm very quickly. His spell in the first 40 minutes was amazing to watch, he created chances every over but after then he looked very flat. So we need to use him wisely, his best chance of taking wickets is very early in his spell. Jadeja is going to be our main wicket taker today.

We stopped Aussies unbeaten run in tests twice once in 2001 and once in 2008, now it is their turn :) This pitch is almost similar to the 2004 Mumbai wicket , we just gave away too much advantage in the first innings to come back in this game. Anyway we will still win the series!

Ashwin's average was 24 in this series before the Chennai test. As mentioned before if he had a little bit luck he would have finished with at least 6 wickets in this match and his average would have stayed the same. He did not bowl well only in the Rajkot match, but apart from that test he has been the standout bowler in this series.

Ashwin bowled beautifully today morning. He beat Cook's outside edge so many times and could have had at least 3 wickets today if luck had gone his way. Even in the first innings he bowled really well and should have had 3-4 wickets so he is still India's best spinner on any track if you ask me because of his variations in speed and also his spinning options. Great to see Jadeja pick up wickets when Ashwin couldnt but Ashwin will always be India's number 1 spinner.