Defending a paltry score of 106, India gave R Ashwin just two overs with the ball in their defeat to New Zealand in Bengaluru, raising a lot of eyebrows.
After collapsing from 408-3 to 462 all out in the second innings, India were all but out of the first Test in Bengaluru. After some late evening drama on day four that saw only four balls being bowled in the New Zealand run-chase before bad light stopped play, the match resumed on the fifth morning under gloomy skies.
Jasprit Bumrah's second-ball wicket of Tom Latham got the crowd going and gave India hope in their defence of 106, but Devon Conway and Will Young dug in and took them to a position of safety. Conway was dismissed for 35, opening another potential door for India, but Rachin Ravindra's brisk 39 not out off 46 balls quashed all hopes as the visitors ran away with an easy victory in the end.
It took New Zealand 27.4 overs to overhaul the target. Surprisingly, India captain Rohit Sharma did not employ the highest wicket-taker in his side, R Ashwin, for the first 24 of those overs. Ashwin was the fifth bowler to be introduced and bowled only two overs for six runs, having had virtually no opportunity to create an impact on the chase.
This was just the second time in his career that Ashwin was introduced as the fifth bowler in the fourth innings of a home Test. Interestingly, both those occasions have come this year itself, with the first such instance happening in Rajkot against England, where India had the same bowling lineup as Bengaluru, but had the cushion of defending a mammoth score of 556. England were bundled out for 122 with Ashwin taking 1-19 from his six overs. On the contrary, Ashwin has opened the bowling in the fourth innings of a home Test 13 times. Overall, he has taken 73 wickets at an average of 16.90 in the fourth innings of home Tests.
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Why then, was India's premier spinner, a legend in home conditions, not given the ball on a fourth day wicket?
Seamers getting help from the surface
The Chinnaswamy pitch for this game provided enough assistance for pacers all through, starting notably from the second morning when India were bowled out for 46. On the fifth morning as well, Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were getting the ball to nip and bounce awkwardly from the cracks that had developed along the length of the pitch.
To go with the variable bounce and sideways movement that the surface was offering, both Siraj and Bumrah were hitting the right areas, not offering anything loose. With balls going past the edge and catching batters on the body, the temptation to continue with the seamers for a long spell made sense to an extent.
Bumrah's wicket of Conway
According to ESPNCricinfo, Bumrah and Siraj induced 27 false shots in the first 12 overs of the innings which they bowled in tandem. Bumrah was given one extra over, in the hope that one of those false shots produces a wicket, and he did just that, trapping Devon Conway in front to leave New Zealand 35-2.
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If Rohit would have had plans of introducing spin at both ends after that over, the dismissal forced him to continue with pace. Ravindra Jadeja was brought on replacing Siraj from the other end, but instead of Ashwin (or Kuldeep Yadav) starting from Bumrah's end, Bumrah was given an eighth consecutive over before Siraj replaced him in the 17th.
Siraj's second spell lasted just one over as Rohit brought on Kuldeep for the 19th. Jadeja, meanwhile, continued from the other end. The two spinners bowled 10.4 overs between them, conceding 54 runs for no wickets. Kuldeep was treated especially harshly, giving away 26 runs in three overs. All while Ashwin stood and watched. He was finally given the ball in the 25th over, when New Zealand needed another 10 runs to win.
Ashwin's toothless outing in the first innings
Part of the reason behind it could have been Ashwin's ordinary performance in the first innings, where he conceded 94 in 16 overs at almost a run-a-ball and took just one wicket. More than the figures, it was the lack of incisiveness in his bowling that was concerning. At one point, Tim Southee and Ravindra took him apart for 35 runs in two overs before he had to be taken out of the attack. At 5.87, it was Ashwin's worst economy rate in a Test innings where he has bowled more than four overs.
Jadeja's control and Kuldeep's X-factor
Jadeja, on the other hand, was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings, taking 3-72 in 20 overs. He was also the most economical after Bumrah and was difficult to attack. That, along with the rough outside the left-hander's off stump made it an obvious call for him to be the first spinner to be introduced. While he didn't get wickets, he created enough chances and false shots to vindicate the decision.
By the time was Kuldeep was brought on, New Zealand needed only 43 with eight wickets in hand. With both Kuldeep and Ashwin having gone at more than five-an-over in the first innings, and not a lot of runs to play with, Rohit perhaps felt the need to take the higher risk, higher reward option in the form of the wrist spinner, delaying Ashwin's entry further till the point it didn't matter anymore.
Ashwin's demotion raised eyebrows among the fans, but with such a low score to defend, and the pitch by no means turning square, it's hard to imagine bringing him on earlier would have made any difference.
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