Ravichandran Ashwin is a well-known Indian spinner, but his fielding skills are not as widely recognized as his bowling or batting. However, he has shown improvement in his fielding abilities at certain times, which is crucial in today’s cricket where fielding is just as important as batting and bowling.
Recently, in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Ashwin caught a sharp catch despite his tall and extensive frame. This shows how he has worked hard on his fielding over the years, as former Team India fielding coach R Sridhar wrote in his autobiography. At 36 years old, Ashwin’s continued success in the field is a positive sign for his future in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and his longevity with the national team in red-ball cricket. Here are his top three fielding moments.
Stunning running catch (Dindigul Dragons vs Chepauk Super Gillies)TNPL 2023:
After being left out of India’s playing XI in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, Ashwin returned to India and joined the Dindigul Dragons for the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League season. He started off well with a good spell of 2/26 against Trichy.
Although he didn’t perform well against the Chepauk Super Gillies with the bat and ball, he made up for it with a superb catch. When the batter tried to slog Varun Chakravarthy’s delivery, Ashwin ran a great distance from inside the circle, judged the ball coming across him over the shoulder, and put in a dive to complete the catch.
Juggling Catch ( India vs Australia 2nd test 2017) Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore:
India’s win over Australia in Bangalore during the 2017 Border-Gavaskar series is still considered one of the most hard-fought wins at home in recent times. After their heavy defeat in Pune in the series opener, the Virat Kohli-led side was under immense pressure and were bowled out for 184 in the first innings of the second Test.
On Day 2, Australia was comfortably placed at 160/3 before Ashwin claimed a brilliant catch to dismiss Peter Handscomb and trigger a collapse. Ashwin was positioned at short midwicket and managed to grab the ball with a full extension. Although the ball juggled once he hit the ground due to the momentum, he still managed to hold onto it on the second attempt to complete a brilliant catch, which changed the course of the game.
Pinpoint direct hit(South Africa vs India 1st test 2017-18 Cape Town):
Team India’s overseas dominance arguably began with the 2017 tour of South Africa. Despite not winning the series, the Men in Blue put on a strong showing, including a rather close affair in Cape Town in the series opener. Ashwin’s incredible fielding ability was on display as he capitalized on a lethargic Keshav Maharaj with a direct hit at the batter’s end from mid-on. This helped India to dismiss the spinner, who played a handy knock of 35 runs off 47 deliveries.
South Africa posted 286 in the first innings with Ashwin picking up two wickets. The hosts were bowled out for 130 during the second innings after a superb bowling display by the Indian pacers. Chasing the 208-run target, India lost their way to lose the match by 72 runs
