Follow UsIndia has won 17 home Test series on the trot. Apart from their dominance in each of these, one thing that remained a big constant was none other than - Ravichandran Ashwin.
The boy from Chennai became a man who then became the face of India’s domination at home. At this point, there’s nothing more one can say about the man with 507 wickets in Test cricket. Whatever we had to say has already been said.
Tomorrow, i.e. the 7th of March, R. Ashwin will play his 100th Test. It’s been a career that has stood at the forefront of India’s home domination.
Hence, what better way to rewind and recap it than to go through each of India’s 17 consecutive series victories at home and look at them through the prism of Ashwin?
Australia in India, 2012/13
Inns - 8, Wickets - 29, Average - 20.10, SR - 49.9, 5 wicket hauls - 4, 10 wicket hauls - 1
Remember how bad a series Ashwin had against England just a few months before this? He averaged 52.64, his worst at home in his entire career. People had written him off.
That’s the face of sweet redemption
Photographer - Ron Gaunt
West Indies in India, 2013/14
Inns - 4, Wickets - 12, Average - 19.33, SR - 36, 5 wicket hauls - 0
It was Sachin Tendulkar’s last series. Of course, Ashwin bowled well. But what better way to pay tribute to him than scoring a hundred?
That’s when Ashwin - the batter’s love affair started with the West Indies
Photographer - Pal Pillai
South Africa in India, 2015-16
Inns - 7, Wickets - 31, Average - 11.12, SR - 31.8, 5 wicket haul - 4, 10 wicket haul - 1
The face you make when you finally BEAT THE PROTEAS after Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers bat for 541 balls combined
Photographer - Ron Gaunt
New Zealand in India, 2016/17
Inns - 6, wickets - 27, average - 17.77, SR - 32.5, 5 wicket haul - 3, 10 wicket haul- 2
Fresh Kiwis for breakfast, anyone?
Photographer - Deepak Malik
England in India, 2016/17
Inns - 10, wickets - 28, average - 30.2, SR - 65.8, 5 wicket hauls - 3, 10 wicket hauls - 1
The Vaathi (leader) of the pack - both literally and figuratively!
Photographer - Deepak Malik
Bangladesh In India, 2016/17
Inns - 2, wickets - 6, Average - 28.5, SR - 59.3,
The Ashwin Gambit
Australia in India, 2016/17
Inns - 8, wickets - 21, average - 27.38, SR - 64.3, 5 wicket hauls - 1
Cracking a tough Aussie unit and the sweet joy of a comeback!!!
(The picture is from the dramatic Bengaluru Test)
Photographer - Deepak Malik
Sri Lanka in India, 2017/18
Innings - 5, wickets - 12, Average - 29.91, SR - 61.8
Imagine the number of hours Ashwin would spend like this in his Test career! (Picture from the drawn Kolkata Test)
Photographer - Prashant Bhoot
Afghanistan in India, 2018
Innings - 2, wickets - 5, average - 11.80, SR - 23.6, 5 wicket hauls - 0, 10 wicket hauls - 0
The carrom ball - a weapon rarely used but always lethalPhotographer - Prashant Bhoot
West Indies in India, 2018/19
Innings - 4, wickets - 9, average - 20.11, Strike rate - 42.2
Ashwin could have experimented a lot more with his beard/hairstyle, just like his deliveries, but alas!
South Africa in India, 2018/19
Innings - 6, wickets - 15, average - 25.26, SR - 55.2. 5 wicket haul - 1
Just look at that immaculate seam on the ball! That’s how you know it will both turn and bounce.
Photographer - Prashant Bhoot
Bangladesh In India, 2019/20
Innings - 3, wickets - 5, average - 20.80, SR - 42.4
Red or pink, Ashwin will still spin!
(Picture from India’s first-ever pink ball home Test)
Photographer - Deepak Malik
England in India, 2020/21
Innings - 8, wickets - 32, average - 14.71, SR - 35.2, 5 wicket hauls - 3
Truly a captain's dream!
(Picture from Ashwin’s century in the second Chennai Test)
Photographer - Saikat Das
New Zealand in India, 2021/22
Innings - 4, wickets - 14, average - 11.35, strike rate - 44.1
A rare occasion when even Ashwin couldn’t win India a Test on Day 5
Photographer - Saikat Das
Sri Lanka in India, 2021/22
Innings - 4, wickets - 12, average - 15.08, Strike rate - 34.6
What do you do if you are the umpire?
Photographer - Pankaj Nangia
Australia in India, 2022/23
Innings - 8, wickets - 25, average - 17.28, strike rate - 39.9, 5 wicket hauls - 2
That’s the face of success!
Photographer - Saikat Das
England in India, 2023/24
Innings - 8, wickets - 17, average - 30.41, strike rate - 46.1, 5 wicket haul - 1
It might seem a normal picture, but guess what? It captures the moment when Ashwin scaled Mount 500! FINALLY!!!!!
Photographer - Gareth Copley