World Cup 2015: wronged ’un

World Cup history is crowded with several, very famous ‘unsung’ performances. But with time, after frequent lyrical narrations and endless re-runs on television, that ‘un’ gets dropped. That’s when fans dig deeper into those much-watched, extensively dissected games, to find more unacknowledged feats. Fanhood is the pursuit of dropping those ‘uns’.

Take India’s all-important quarter-final win over Australia in the 2011 World Cup. Yuvraj Singh was the certified hero, the Man of the Match. Suresh Raina was the ‘unsung’ at Motera that day. With time, Raina’s unbeaten 28-ball 34 in the final stages of that tense game would receive its due acclaim. The ‘un’ would drop. The real forgotten star of India’s quarter-final win to this day, though, happens to be R Ashwin.

The finger-spinner was thrown a challenge, and also the new-ball in the hot and humid Motera. Standing 22 yards away was the in-form Shane Watson, the big striker’s reputation enhanced by scores of 79, 62 and 91 earlier in the tournament. He would get Watson, and later snare Ricky Ponting too. The rookie, not even a year old in international cricket, would get rid of Australia’s two big-match players who had single-handedly won them big titles.

Team balance, ‘old boy offie’ Harbhajan Singh’s experience and Yuvraj Singh’s match-winning part-time spin would conspire to keep Ashwin out of the final two games of that World Cup. On that night of festivities in April 2, 2011, Ashwin would be one of the boys. He was giving hearty hugs to Yuvraj, extending warm handshakes to Dhoni, patting Zaheer’s drenched back and lifting Tendulkar on his shoulders. He was a World Champion without doubt but he wasn’t the one getting the hugs, handshakes and pats from grateful team mates.

Four years later, at the start of 2015 World Cup, Ashwin would be the ‘old boy offie’. And three weeks and three games later, he seems older and smarter. The off-spinner is the second most-economical bowler of this World Cup and with 8 wickets, the second most-successful spinner after Imran Tahir, who has played a game more. After the West Indies game at WACA on Friday, Ashwin would be on par with Tahir in terms of games played, and mostly likely go on top of the wicket-takers list. This assumption isn’t based on the four wickets he took against amateurs from UAE but the purchase he got from this track at Perth.

A dream start

The 28-year-old had a dream start to the World Cup. In the first game against Pakistan, he would open with a maiden, follow it up with a wicket-maiden later in the spell and then finish it with another run-less over. In an India-Pakistan game, with a steep chase in the second half, every dot ball is like a drop of water in Chinese torture. But Virat Kohli’s hundred would once again get the Man of the Match award and Ashwin’s count of ‘unsung’ World Cup games would increase by one.

Before the South Africa game at Melbourne, Ashwin would hear something that would give him goose pimples. Anil Kumble, at the MCG collecting his Hall of Fame entry ticket, would say that he saw a bit of himself in Ashwin. It’s been more than a week but the Chennai boy would still blush when he was reminded about the Kumble comment. “But I’ve always maintained that Kumble is one of my big heroes. Every time he’s been put in a corner he would come out really successful. That is one aspect I really admire about him. To actually hear that from him is a big honour,” he said.

Not too long ago, Ashwin was in the middle of his worst slump. In the five ODIs against New Zealand and the next five playing South Africa, he got just a couple of wickets. This time things were different against the Proteas. In a spell that started in the powerplay, he would have figures of 4-0-11-2 with JP Duminy and Miller being his victims. But still he’d continue being ‘unsung’ as this time Shikhar Dhawan would be collecting the cheque at the end of the day. The UAE game would see him get 4 wickets and the Man of the Match award, but then who remembers one-sided games against minnows.

Tomorrow against West Indies, Ashwin will be again on the same track facing a tougher task. When Chris Gayle is part of any game, there is always the mandatory question about the plans for batsmen about whom commentators often say “you can’t set a field for them.” In the past, while playing for CSK, Dhoni has often thrown the new ball to Ashwin to counter Gayle. The bowler is ready to face the situation. “No particular plans. I mean, it’s pretty simple. You’ve got to restrict him to hitting to one side of the ground because you have three fielders and try to see how much you can restrict the hitting to that side,” he said. Sounds like a plan. At this World Cup, Ashwin is dropping a few wrong ‘uns.

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Source:: Indian Express