Ashwin reminisces on best bowling spells, turning point of career ahead of 100th Test

India and England will lock horns in the fifth and final Test of the series in Dharamshala from Thursday, which will be Ashwin's 100th Test as well. In 99 Tests so far, Ashwin has taken 507 wickets at an average of 23.91, including 35 five-wicket hauls, with the best bowling figures of 7/59. Combine it with his tally of 3,309 runs in 140 innings at an average of 26.14, with five centuries and 14 fifties and he is one of the most successful all-rounders of the modern era.

Despite him having joint-most five-wicket hauls for India, tied with legendary Anil Kumble, Ashwin has picked up three spells as his best, which do not involve any five-wicket hauls. These are: 3/59 against England at Edgbaston in 2018 (which England won by 31 runs), 4/113 against South Africa at Centurion that year (in which SA won as well) and his marathon spell of 2/84 in 49 overs against Australia in Bengaluru back in 2017 (he picked this over a six-wicket haul in the second innings of the match which India won).

"When you finish, it is Test wins that stand really tall," Ashwin said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo

"But having given it a lot of thought, one of the finest spells I have bowled has to be the one in Birmingham in 2018. I got three wickets on the morning of day three. I got Cook, Root and Jennings. I got seven wickets in the game. I felt like I had almost bowled India to victory in the game, but it did not happen. That has to be one of the finest spells I have bowled."

"A Test in Bangalore where I bowled a spell on day-two morning, not for many rewards. And day one at Centurion in 2018 again against South Africa. I got a four-for. It could have been six or seven but it did not happen. That was a good spell. Those are three spells that will stand out. There are several five-fors and wins that have happened over the years, but these are the spells I will remember for how [the ball] came out of the hand, what it meant personally," he concluded.

The veteran spinner learnt some big lessons following England's Test series win in India back in 2012-13. During the four Test matches of the series, Ashwin took 14 wickets at an average of 52.64 and was outshined by the English spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. His performance left him feeling vulnerable about his position in the Test squad, questioning his own style of play and starting the process of rebuilding it. Since then, Ashwin has been one of the key figures of India's domination at home, which has seen them not lose a series since that painful defeat to England.

Ashwin said that at that time, he was too young and nervous to understand the criticism, but he eventually worked on his mistakes and is extremely grateful to have acquired the ability to learn and correct himself.

"One of the turning points of my life was the England series when Alastair Cook came here and made all those runs along with [Kevin] Pietersen, who had a great game in Mumbai. It has been spoken about a lot. Leading into the next series against Australia at home, there was a lot of noise about me being left out of the team. Recently, one of the selectors who was involved also had a chat with me about it.

"At that time, it was a bit nervy because I did not know where it came from. I had played three series. I had my first series in Australia. I had bowled really well in Melbourne and had a decent Test in Adelaide. I had been player of the series twice before that and was on the verge of being left out. I was very young and I felt, 'Is that all? Is that the time I have got here?' But when I went back and reflected upon it, there was one thing that dawned on me about what was wrong with me. And that is a wonderful lesson I have still kept with me all these years down the line."

"Whatever happens, we can hold a lot of complaints against somebody external or blame it on another individual. But for me, if you looked internally, you can improve at least by another 5 per cent. Until and unless there is something wrong with you, people are not going to throw punches at you or point fingers at you. When I looked back at it, I knew what I had to correct."

Ever since, it has been about addressing downs and troubleshooting for all the questions thrown at me. Some of the questions I raised myself, mostly and largely, and that is probably been a motivating factor for me over the years to reflect on the downs and work on them. Maybe there is a little psychic in there who wants those things to happen and wants to work on it."

That is why learning is one of the biggest things this game has taught me and correcting those mistakes is an ability I have acquired over the years and I am thankful for the game to have given that to me," he concluded.

One of the biggest criticisms of Ashwin's career is his record in overseas conditions, despite his records in Australia, England and South Africa being really great as compared to other Indian spinners. India over the years have chosen to play just one spinner in these countries, which favour fast bowling majorly. Ravindra Jadeja has enjoyed the privilege of being preferred over Ashwin because of his contributions with the bat.

Ashwin said that it is disappointing not to play certain matches for the country, but he made peace with the decisions of the team knowing that they were taken for the best interests of the entire team. He also acknowledged that Jadeja often out-batted him, making him a much better choice as a spin-bowling all-rounder over him.

"The only way you can find an answer for that (him not playing overseas Tests) is if you had a time machine, me playing, and then whether the result would have been different. It has always been disappointing not to play a particular game for your country. When you know you are bowling well and all that. Again, I would definitely make peace with it saying the team definitely decided in the best interest of the team," said Ashwin.

"I do not think any captain or any coach wants to leave out a player who is really of use in that particular game. From their perspective, they would have thought they made the best decision at that point of time. Even though you are disappointed you will have to come around the fact that it is a team game and sometimes maybe someone else will play that game."

"Look, not a lot of teams around the world have what India has. The person who is taking my place is Ravindra Jadeja. He has been batting pretty well, as you see [from] his averages with the bat. I think that is where he outscored me in those games. The team believes that he has been batting pretty well and bowling might not be that much of a factor because of the pitches we might play on in England and sometimes in South Africa. Yeah, so I would say I would make peace with that," concluded Ashwin.

At home, Ashwin has taken 354 wickets in 59 Tests at an average of 21.33 and a strike rate of just over 46, with the best figures of 7/59. He has also scored 1,824 runs while averaging 27.22 with the bat, with three centuries and eight fifties in 73 innings.

Away from home, Ashwin has taken 153 wickets in 40 Tests and has scored 1,456 runs at an average of 26.00, with two centuries and six fifties.

India leads the series 3-1. India and England still have World Test Championship points to gain in Dharamsala, even though the series is decided. India is on top of the World Test Championship standings while England is eighth on the points table. (ANI)