'I can't remember a spinner trying this much on such a surface'- Daniel Vettori lauds Ravi Ashwin's tactics against NZ in Kanpur Test

Ravichandran Ashwin has been trying all the tricks up his sleeve to get the better of the Kiwi batters in the ongoing Test between India and New Zealand. The start of the third day was an eventful one as it saw a thrilling contest between the bat and the ball. So much so that even the former Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori loved watching the Indian off-spinner Ashwin showcasing his skills.

After restricting India to 345 in the first innings, New Zealand got off to a great start with the bat. Their openers Tom Latham and Will Young showed encouraging signs as they established a 100-run partnership together on day 1. However, India’s spin king  Ashwin fittingly provided his team with the first breakthrough on day two and thus, broke the 151-run stand.

The Tamil Nadu spinner dismissed Young for 89. Post that, he tried a lot of variations and was lethal, to say the least. Despite not picking any further wickets, the bowling all-rounder kept troubling the opposition batters with his wide variety of skills.

Ravi Ashwin wants to see what he can do as a bowler: Vettori 

The former legendary Kiwi all-rounder Daniel Vettori was mighty impressed with Ashwin’s tactics during the second innings, of the first Test between India and NZ. He spoke about how the 35-year-old loves to experiment. The 42-year-old even mentioned the fact that he was enjoying the off-spinner doing so much during the match.

“Ashwin loves this sort of stuff now. He wants to test the boundaries, he wants to see what he can do as a bowler. When he’s on the Indian wickets which provides so much, he then settles into a rhythm and bowls it spot on” said Vettori. “He wants to show his variety, he wants to show his skills and he wants to show off in a lot of ways. I think it’s pretty cool to watch, it keeps batters on guard,” Vettori said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo.

“I’m really enjoying this because you know you don’t see this from a spinner, ever. I can’t remember a spinner trying this much on such a surface, and I think he’s starting to get the reward. I think he’s created so many doubts in the mind of some of the batters. They’re on guard the whole time and that’s the perfect situation for a spinner,” Vettori concluded.