‘He plays with the batsmen's mind’ – Anil Kumble applauds Ravi Ashwin’s strategic use of crease against West Indies in Dominica

India great Anil Kumble heaped massive praise on veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his excellent use of the crease during the first Test against West Indies. Notably, Ashwin dazzled with the ball as he claimed a five-for and a seven-wicket haul across the two innings in India’s dominating win.

Marking his return to the playing XI against the Windies, Ashwin played a pivotal role in India’s bowling attack which paid high dividends. With this, former cricketer Kumble provided a unique take on Ashwin’s return and highlighted the latter’s brilliant use of the crease which helped build the pressure on the rival batting unit.

"(Ravichandran) Ashwin plays with the batsmen’s mind. It's not just about the skills you possess but also the ability to transfer pressure onto the batter. This was evident in the body language of every (West Indies) batter that faced R Ashwin,” Kumble told on JioCinema.

"Ashwin bowled wide off the crease, making the ball come into the left-hander. When (Tagenarine) Chanderpaul anticipated the balls coming in, Ashwin delivered a beautiful delivery that drifted in, left him, and took the off stump,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that Ashwin equalled the record of Kumble for the most 10-wicket hauls by an Indian in Test cricket, claiming eight ten-fors thus far. In addition to this, he became the third Indian behind Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to attain 700-plus wickets in international cricket, claiming 709 scalps thus far.

Team India eyeing Test series win

A resounding win in the first Test by an innings and 141 runs helped Rohit Sharma and Co. take a 1-0 lead in the two Test series. The side will be gunning to clinch the series before turning their attention towards the white-ball series.

West Indies play India in the second Test on Thursday, July 20, at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. The home side will need to amp up their game so as to get back on level terms in the Test series. Following the conclusion of the second red-ball match, the two teams will contest in a three-match ODI series followed by a five-match T20I series.