ENG Vs IND 2018: Harbhajan Singh Lauds Ravichandran Ashwin for Edgbaston Effort

Harbhajan Singh has lavished praise on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his brilliant bowling spell in the first innings of the ongoing first Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Before the start of the ongoing series, Ashwin had just three wickets in two Tests in England (both came during the 2014 tour), at 33.66. Not only that, the senior campaigner rarely replicated his homer performance in overseas conditions.

Not surprisingly, he attracted criticism from several quarters for his indifferent performance on unfriendly tracks.

However, India’s spin spearhead proved his detractors wrong with a stunning spell in Birmingham. He gave India the first breakthrough by castling Alastair Cook with a gem of a delivery. He then went on to dismiss Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad to finish the innings as India’s highest wicket-taker.

The Chennai-based bowler conceded 60 runs for his four wickets,

The performance in the testing conditions has been garnering praise from all over and Harbhajan also had a word of praise for his former teammate.

“This is the best I have seen Ashwin bowl outside the subcontinent. He has done very well over the years but most of his wickets have come in the subcontinent. Wickets don’t come easy back home either. But when the conditions are favourable, you tend to get more confidence,” Harbhajan told The Times of India.

Harbhajan was also impressed with Ashwin’s decision of sticking with his stock ball.

During the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ashwin had tried several variations to bolster his arsenal but without much success for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) as a skipper.

“When you are trying too much, it means you are not doing enough with your stock ball. Here in England, all those carom balls and googlies won’t make much of a difference because it doesn’t spin that much. It’s crucial to deceive the batsman in flight if a spinner has to be successful in England and that’s exactly what Ashwin did,” Harbhajan said, referring to the dismissal of Buttler.

At Edgbaston, Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a slow, loopy delivery on a good length on off stump which pinned Buttler on his pad. Certainly, it forced Harbhajan Singh to hail lone spinner’s efforts.

When asked about Ashwin’s bowling, Harbhajan said: “I think he is bowling seam up. And there are more revs being imparted by putting it more in the air. It leads to overspin (as opposed to sidespin where the ball curves away rather than dipping). It’s the best way to go about in these conditions. Because unless you impart more spin on the ball, it just wouldn’t spin.”