Cheteshwar Pujara gives sneak peek into Ashwin's plan against Joe Root: 'Ash wants Root to...'

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Cheteshwar Pujara has explained Ravichandran Ashwin's plan against Joe Root in the ongoing Test series between India and England. Ashwin will be playing his 100th Test match in Dharamsala from Thursday, March 7, and the rivalry will once again renew for the final team in the series.

Talking about Ashwin's sharp cricketing brain, Pujara explained how Ashwin has been keen on forcing 'proactive batter' Joe Root to face all the six deliveries of the over.

“If you look at his record, Root has always been a proactive batter – he will either try to play the sweep or reverse sweep, or try to rotate the strike so he doesn’t have to face six balls off any particular bowler. I’m not saying that Root doesn’t defend well, but overall, his game plan is to put bowlers under pressure," Pujara told ESPNcricinfo.

“To counter that, Ashwin’s tactic has been to keep Root on strike by taking out the short leg or other close-in fielders, leaving just one slip, and placing a fielder at square leg to prevent the single. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing on a flat pitch or on a turner, Ash wants Root to defend those six balls and see how he reacts.

“It is a battle of wills between two top players, which makes for an engrossing contest.” Pujara also described how Ashwin got the better of Steve Smith by watching the batting videos of the Australian batting maestro for hours.

“He (Ashwin) has spoken previously about how he obsessively pored over videos of Steve Smith several months before India’s tour of Australia in 2020-21. Before the Melbourne Test, I remember we chalked out the plan of having a leg gully against Smith because there was a bit of moisture, which made the ball hold a bit.

“And that is the reason Ash ended up bowling with the new ball. Part of the plan was also that he would come round the stumps to create the angle. And the plan worked – I caught Smith at leg gully.”

Pujara also praised Ashwin for his longevity, saying he is “probably one of the fittest I have known” among the bowlers, ending up bowling 30, 35, 40 overs in a day, but he still has the stamina to carry on next day.

“Having just become the second quickest bowler to 500 Test wickets, Ash now deserves another equally significant landmark – of 100 Tests. He’s probably a little late getting there for various reasons. But I am really happy for him. He is someone who has always been ready to take the challenge on and do the hard yards for the team. He deserves it the most.

“He has evolved and survived for a long time despite playing multiple formats, and that is mainly because of his innovative mind: he is not afraid or shy to try out new things, even at the cost of failing in the process.” Pujara, who also played his 100th Test last year but has been out favour currently, said there was no respite for batters while facing Ashwin as he was always on a look-out for taking wicket.

“There’s no respite. If you’re comfortable batting against him from over the stumps, he will change to round the stumps, from where he is able to create that angle where, if the ball goes straight, there’s an edge in play even if you are looking to defend.

“He is constantly observing the batter, his trigger, where the backlift is coming from, which stump he is on. So if a batter is looking to sweep, Ash will go a little fuller and try and block him by bowling the quicker delivery, almost a yorker length, and get an lbw.” Pujara cited an example of Ashwin’s meticulous preparation before a match.

Outside of cricket matters, Pujara said “you can never win an argument” against Ashwin.

“He is very smart, and his vocabulary is probably among the best in the cricketing fraternity.

“But Ash is not a bad loser. We play table tennis and tennis – two things in which I enjoy having an edge over him! – and he is a good sport.

“I wish I had his incredible memory. That is probably because he has a mind that is always ticking. Away from cricket, he is a voracious reader, enjoys chess online, and is open to learning new things.”

(With PTI Inputs)