August 3, 2024

Ashwin: “In The Last IPL, I Felt Like I Needed to Widen My Game”

R Ashwin Shines as a Batter in TNPL, Scoring 200 Runs

At 37, R Ashwin is showcasing his batting skills during his first full Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) season. Known for his ability to hit boundaries, Ashwin is now expanding his game by focusing on shots square of the wicket. This adjustment has been effective, especially in this year’s TNPL.

In Qualifier 2 against Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans, Ashwin excelled with reverse sweeps, particularly targeting left-arm spinners R Sai Kishore and S Ajith Ram. He scored 28 runs off just nine balls against Sai Kishore, maintaining a strike rate over 300. Overall, Ashwin has accumulated 200 runs in eight innings this TNPL, with a striking rate of 166.66. He has often batted at the top or No. 3 for the Dindigul Dragons, proving his versatility and improving his role as a batter.

“Look, everything is work in progress, right?,” he said on the eve of the TNPL final against Shahrukh Khan’s Lyca Kovai Kings in Chennai. “You can even ask Shahrukh Khan about it. How does he do power-hitting… how do you hit the ball through the off side and leg side? It’s all about repetitions, and understanding angles and triggers.

“Obviously, in the last IPL, I felt like I needed to widen my game and widen my horizons square of the wicket because I know I can hit the ball down the ground, and I can use my feet. Do I want to explore other options is something I had to ask myself. So if I can ask that question and if I can find an answer, it gives me a new avenue to explore and keep myself interested in the game.”

P Vignesh, a rookie left-arm spinner for Dindigul, missed out on a spot in India’s Under-19 World Cup squad earlier this year. However, he has stood out in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) for his precision and control. In Qualifier 2 against Tiruppur, Vignesh delivered an outstanding performance, taking 3 wickets for just 8 runs and earning the Player-of-the-Match award.

Similarly, Mohamed Ali, an offspin-bowling allrounder for Tiruppur, also missed the Under-19 World Cup but has made a significant impact in the TNPL. R Ashwin has advised young cricketers to learn from setbacks and continually improve their skills, using these experiences as motivation for growth.

“Look, firstly I think missing the Under-19 cut is not the end of the world. Looking at how fragile our next generation can be, I really urge people to look at this game as a part of life,” Ashwin said. “Failure and success is very, very normal, and people become better only through failures. So I know P Vignesh, he has been coming to the Indian team nets, and I think he has improved every day. And this sort of a tournament gives these guys opportunity to be able to express and expand their game. I really hope that they’re ready to expand it constantly, and find answers to the questions that are going to be asked.”

Shahrukh: GT Helped Improve My Game Against Spin

Shahrukh Khan has often had trouble facing spin bowling, especially early in his innings. To improve, he has been working on a technical adjustment: a trigger movement where he shifts his weight forward. He believes this change will help him become a more well-rounded batsman.

“When I was with the Gujarat Titans, we had a camp for about a couple of months there, so I started working a lot on my spin game because they wanted me to bat up the order,” Shahrukh said. “And when you bat up the order, obviously for a batter like me having my concerns against spin bowling, especially, opponent teams would bring in spin when I come out to bat.

“So their role was to help me improve my spin game, and it really helped. The front press I’m doing [in the TNPL] is quite obvious now, and it has helped me to score off the front foot and off the back foot as well.”

Shahrukh Khan’s strike rate against pace bowling in the IPL is an impressive 161.11, but it used to drop to 112 against spin. However, in IPL 2024, he improved his strike rate against spin to 168.75 while maintaining a high rate against pace. In a league match against Dindigul in Tirunelveli, Shahrukh scored an unbeaten 51 off 25 balls, successfully taking on both mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and left-arm spinner Vignesh. After losing that game, Shahrukh has urged his team to deliver their best performance as they aim for a third consecutive TNPL title.

“I really don’t know [about the law of averages]. We’re taking it as just another game,” Shahrukh said. “The law of averages and the hat-trick [of titles]… all these things on social media are there, but we aren’t focusing on that. Out of the eight games we’ve played, only in two games we’ve stepped up to the expectations we have as a unit.

“I hope even in this game we try and bring it out. As far as I’m concerned, we still haven’t played our best cricket this year, and we will try and do that.”

Sarah Bryce Hits 51 Not Out to Keep Welsh Fire Burning

Welsh Fire secured their third win in four matches of The Hundred by defeating Trent Rockets, who have now lost three games in a row. The match ended with Welsh Fire chasing down the Rockets’ total of 130 with two balls to spare.

Trent Rockets captain Nat Sciver-Brunt chose to bat first but lost both openers on the first ball. Bryony Smith was dismissed by Freya Davies, and Grace Scrivens fell to Beth Langston. Despite a strong effort from Sciver-Brunt and Ash Gardner, who added 37 and 31 respectively, the Rockets struggled to build momentum. They were 33 for 2 after the powerplay and 60 for 3 at the halfway point. Sciver-Brunt was stumped by Jess Jonassen after scoring a valuable 37, and the team finished with a total of 130. Welsh Fire’s bowlers, including Davies and Jonassen, were effective, making it hard for the Rockets to accelerate.

Welsh Fire also faced early setbacks, with Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont dismissed quickly. However, Hayley Matthews and Sarah Bryce stabilized the innings. Matthews was out for 16, but Bryce continued to impress, scoring an unbeaten 51 from 39 balls. With contributions from Jonassen and Georgia Elwiss, Welsh Fire chased down the target with relative ease, sealing the win with two balls to spare.

“We knew if we just built partnerships together, there were runs out there, with big pockets where you could run hard, and I think we did that really well,” Bryce said. “Jess is a great runner. They say winning is a habit and we have had some tight games when different people have stood up at different times and I think as a team that is really exciting.”