The biggest talking point after India’s crushing victory against Australia at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday was bound to be Shreyas Iyer’s hundred. The Mumbai batter, who has had to battle a painful back injury for months, deserved the Player-of-the-Match award and all the attention on him.
But, the second ODI was also about another gritty Indian cricketer, whose last ODI before this series was in January, 2022. In his comeback game at Mohali, R. Ashwin accounted for Marnus Labuschagne.
“I won’t say that it’s a trial for him or anything like that. We know his quality. But it’s an opportunity for him to play games in the format. We just want to give him that opportunity to play two or three games, if required, before the World Cup”Rahul Dravid (before the Mohali ODI)
It turned out he had reserved something even better for the Aussie batter, who was coming off a profitable outing in South Africa, after taking guard as a concussion substitute. And yes, the Mohali game was more about Mohammed Shami’s sensational spell of seam bowling.
At Indore, it was Ashwin who made the ball talk. He beat Labuschagne comprehensively with a ball that was fired in a little quicker and didn’t behave the way the batter thought it would.
After cleaning up Labuschagne, he went on to trap David Warner — who at times pretended he was actually a right-hander – lbw; the replays, though, suggested the opener had a slight inside edge but he didn’t review it. Just four balls later, Ashwin had Josh Inglis plumb in front, too; though this time there was a review, an unsuccessful one that.
Within a space of seven balls, Ashwin had taken three wickets and killed whatever slim hopes Australia may have had of avoiding a fifth defeat in a row. It was a remarkable spell from a remarkable man.
Back with a bang
And it was a commendable comeback too, after being sidelined from the ODIs for around 20 months. At this stage of his career, he may not have to prove anything to anyone but he has justified the faith shown in him by the selectors and the team management after being recalled to the ODI team following Axar Patel’s injury ahead of the Asia Cup final.
India surely could not have asked for a better replacement, especially with the World Cup round the corner.
On Indore’s flat track that had no sympathy for the bowlers, he showed what an intelligent cricketer like him — ever keen to widen his repertoire and sharpen his armoury — could achieve.
Especially in these modern times when the IPL has taught the overseas batters so much about the Indian conditions.
