India's ace spinner R Ashwin revealed how he prepared for India's tour to Australia earlier this year, particularly for premier batter Steve Smith.
R Ashwin is arguably one of the best spinners India has ever produced. Over the years the ace off-spinner has been the mainstay of the Indian bowling line-up in the longest format of the game and is also the second-fastest bowler in Tests to breach the 400-wicket milestone.
The Tamil Nadu-born spinner has from time to time delivered for his captain and provided crucial breakthroughs for his team. Ashwin recently surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become the third-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 427 wickets to his name, just behind Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619).
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R Ashwin played a crucial role in India’s triumph in the Test series in Australia earlier this year. The off-spinner took 12 wickets in three matches and played a gritty inning with the bat in the third Test to script a famous draw at SCG.
R Ashwin troubled premier Australian batter, Steve Smith, as he dismissed him on four occasions during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21, which India won 2-1.
In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, R Ashwin revealed that before India’s tour to Australia he made Steve Smith his obsession for six months as he used to watch all his videos from previous matches.
"I made him (Steve Smith) my obsession for about six months, not just two weeks or three weeks. Just footage, just watching different matches. The most recent series they played (before India toured Australia in 2020-21) was New Zealand.
He added that he also kept his eye on Marnus Labuschagne when they played against New Zealand before Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“I went through every single day's play. I would go on to my app and check - how many runs was (Marnus) Labuschagne batting on when Will Somerville came on to bowl? Which ball did he hit over the cow corner?," R Ashwin said.
R Ashwin further explained how he planned against Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, saying that spinners need to be very precise in Australia.
"As a spinner, you need to be very precise in Australia. Every run you give must be on your own terms. So whenever Marnus Labuschagne steps out, he hits the ball over cow corner for an offspinner, or he hits it over mid-off. It's very rare through long-on. And he doesn't have a flat sweep, he has a lap sweep, like a paddle. All these shots have a trigger.
“And it's very fine. If you don't know or if you've not seen enough footage, you cannot pick these things up. And with Steve Smith, his batting is very momentum-driven. Most of his batting comes from his hands, so my whole idea was to disturb his hands through the series. He's got certain hand-movement patterns.
“You have to pick them and be able to bowl in a way that disturbs his hand pattern. So I bowled with different load-ups, different speeds, different run-ups and all that. I realised I kind of got to him," he concluded.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
