Ravichandran Ashwin vs Labuschagne and Smith will be action-packed during BGT series

The Ashwin threat is looming in the air. But are the Aussies overthinking too much?

Ravichandran Ashwin vs Labuschagne and Smith will be action-packed during BGT series

Steve Smith; Ravichandran Ashwin; Marnus Labuschagne

Maybe tomorrow will end all the discussions surrounding the pitches, Ravichandran Ashwin‘s threat, Ravichandran Aswhin’s doppelganger, and such and such kinds of stuff. Tomorrow, that is February 9, the two rivals, India and Australia, will walk onto the Nagpur field to play the first of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. And ahead of this, both teams have done their homework, but who will get the good marks? As the cliché goes- only time will tell.

Ravichandran Ashwin is all the Aussies have in their mind? Why not, because he can single-handedly demolish the batting line-up plus now his other half, Ravindra Jadeja, has recovered from injury.

The fans cannot just wait for the day to commence. Had it been another team, maybe the buzz wouldn’t have been there that much, but it’s Australia, the No.1 ranked team with players like the consistent Steve Smith, the quirky Marnus Labuschagne, and the tireless No.1 pacer Pat Cummins.

Ashwin versus Labuschange and Ashwin versus Smith is the much-awaited clashes. In the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in 2020-21, Labuschange was the leading run scorer with 426 runs at an average of 53.25 but Ashwin dismissed him twice.

“I’ve changed some of my game because of what I’ve heard about Ashwin and how he bowled to me,” Labuschange was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au last month. “I’ve adapted my game to try and foil a few of his ideas and ways he goes about it. It’s going to be a lovely game of chess and I can’t wait for it,” the 28-year-old even added that he started preparing against India right after the 2020-2021 home series.

And when the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Rajasthan Royals, which Ashwin represents, shared a post quoting Labuschagne along with a picture of him and Ashwin standing side by side on a chess board, Labuschange replied, “can’t wait”. Fans can’t wait for the same too.

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Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin is a force to reckon with, especially during Test matches in India. He boasts of having astonishing figures, bagging 50 wickets in 16 innings against the Aussies at an economy of 2.48 and an average of 23.16, with the best figures of 7/103.

Aussie vice-captain Steve Smith became Ashwin’s victim six times in 12 matches and Ashwin is the only bowler who dismissed him the most. Smith also averages 60 or more while facing Ashwin. And in the 2020 series, Ashwin dismissed Smith twice in just 23 balls.

The Ashwin threat is looming in the air. But are the Aussies overthinking too much? They have made plans to face the off-spinner. “There has been many off-spinners we played and Mahesh is one of them. He bowls a similar style (to that) of Ashwin. We are not overthinking things. Ash is a quality bowler but we have tools in our kit bag to counter that,” Smith told reporters during a media conference.

But then, again and again, Australia talked about having plans but they still faltered in India. This time, to face Ashwin, they have roped in a doppelganger of Ashwin, Mahesh Pithiya who dismissed Smith six times on the first day of training.

The numbers are surely in India’s favor and maybe the Indian fans are complacent about it. But tables can turn, and anything can happen. It happened in the previous series in Australia, to the shock of the home team, India snatched victory at their fortress, The Gabba.

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