IND vs ENG | Valentine's Special: R Ashwin and his love for lefties

A 29th five-wicket haul for R Ashwin helped India fold England for a mere 134 in Chennai on day 2 of the second Test. The milestone tied him for the seventh spot in the all-time list alongside Glenn McGrath. 23 of them, in just 45 Tests, were picked on home soil, which leaves him one ahead of James Anderson's 22 off 89 at the fourth spot. Yet there was a bigger milestone that awaited Ashwin, who has now played 76 largely successful Tests. With the dismissal of England's last man, Stuart Broad, in the final session, Ashwin became the only bowler in Test cricket history to have dismissed 200 left-handed batsmen, a milestone he reached only a month after surpassing Muttiah Muralitharan to take the top spot on the elusive list. 

Of his 391 career wickets in the format, 51.2 per cent are lefties, the most for any bowler in Test cricket. The next best on the list in terms of share of wickets is Anderson, with 31.1 per cent, (190 of 611 wickets), although it is the Sri Lankan legend of stands second in terms of most such dismissals, 191 wickets, implying wickets share of 23.9 per cent. 

One can attribute it to the increase in left-handed batting options in Test cricket over the years - from one at the start of the previous century to 35 per cent of the total share which is the most since the first-ever game in 1877. But a closer look at Ashwin's career in comparison to Muralitharan's shows that during the Indian's career, the percentage increase in left-handers were 29.69 (from 27 to 35) as against a percentage rise of 42.85 (from 21 to 34) during the latter's career where he took an all-time high of 800 Test wickets..    

Increase in percentage of left-handed batsmen in Test cricket

Ashwin has always performed better against left-handers. 44.58 per cent of his career deliveries have been against left-handers, but averages better with superior wickets per ball ratio against the variety - 20.2 and 46.7 against 32.2 and 60.8 respectively. 

Ashwin's stronghold over top-order batsman has been a testimony of his rise in stature as Test bowler. 44.75 per cent of his dismissals (175 out of 391 wickets) have been top-order batters (No.1 to 5). 56.11 per cent of those dismissals are left-handed batsmen against whom he averages just 23.8 at a strike rate of 58.2 as against 47.2 and 87.4 against right-handers. Left-handers also find it difficult to score (2.46 an over) against Ashwin as against righties (3.24). In fact, three of his most frequent victims - David Warner (10), Alastair Cook, and Ben Stokes (9) - are all left-handers and top-order batters. India have reaped the benefit of Ashwin's supremacy over left-handed top-order batters, as he has bowled 56 per cent of his deliveries with the new ball (overs 1 to 20) to this variety, which dips to 44 per cent with the new ball.  

Top-20 of Ashwin's most-dismissed batsmen...

It is always difficult for a left-hander to face an off-spinner, who turns the ball away from such batters, against a righty, for whom the ball will spin into him. That dismissal of Ben Stokes on day 2 was a typical Ashwin dismissal - a loopy one, gets the drift, creates the angle which left Stokes confident of pushing it towards midwicket, but the ball turned past the bat to rattle against the off stump. While Ashwin acknowledges that, he did opine that his use of crease, seam position, and bowling over the stumps has been the key reasons behind his success against lefties. 

"I can't really remember how it all started. Obviously, the ball turning away from the left-handers is one very big advantage. Similarly, left-arm orthodox spinners also love bowling to right-handers. Generally, left-hand batsmen had received a lot of bowling from round the stumps, so one thing that I have learned better and started doing a lot of late is varying the seam position, the point where I use the crease, went really wide to the middle to try and get as close as possible and also change over the stumps. Over the stumps is one angle that I have used a lot effectively over the last 36 months," Ashwin said on Saturday during the virtual press conference.