Amit Mishra is a splendid foil to R Ashwin

The attention given to India’s batting and batsmen in the current series has been, in my opinion, disproportionately high compared to what the bowlers deserved. Taking 20 wickets in the first and second Tests was a superb achievement. In fact if the batsmen had not lost their nerve in the first, the series might already have been won.

 

Admittedly, there have been some melodramatic developments on this tour where the Indian batting is concerned. Injuries to in-form openers Shikhar Dhawan and M. Vijay has meant other batsmen being pushed up the order. Rohit Sharma’s inability to handle pressure has had him moved from No.3 to five.

 

As it transpired, K.L. Rahul who came into the second Test, scored a fine century and Ajinkya Rahane, promoted to No.3, made a superb second innings century in the same match.

 

Even more dramatic was Cheteshwar Pujara’s return with a solid, innings holding century in adverse circumstances in the third Test currently underway.

 

What happens from here with the Indian batting is anybody’s guess. With Dhawan and Vijay to return shortly, there is going to be a problem of plenty which will give the selectors and team management plenty to think about. 

 

But despite so much has been happening around the batting, the talent and pedigree of the Indian batsmen was not in doubt. But where the bowling was concerned, there was justifiable skepticism that has been dispelled in impressive fashion.

 

R. Ashwin has been the outstanding bowler from either side. He’s harried all Sri Lankan batsmen (getting the redoubtable Sangakkara out all four times in the first two Tests was a remarkable feat), and 17 wickets in the first two Tests is testimony to his strike prowess.

 

What’s impressed me about Ashwin is how he upped the ante seeing Harbhajan Singh in the squad. This was an internecine contest which could have gone either way. After all, Harbhajan is a veteran with 400-plus Test wickets and making a comeback after waiting on the sidelines hungrily for two years.

 

But in the first Test itself, Ashwin showed he was better prepared — mentally and in terms of skills — to take on this challenge. What’s changed for Ashwin in the past 10-12 months? Clearly he has mentally reconciled to the fact that he is primarily a bowler. For a while it had seemed that his priorities had got mixed up, and the better he did with the bat, the more was he was prone to needlessly experiment as a bowler. 

 

He has now narrowed down his variations, bowls with greater control, making superb use of the width and depth of the crease to keep the batsmen guessing. His bowling is more nuanced and more penetrative. He is now easily India’s main bowler — if not the best off-spinner too in the world.

 

Amit Mishra has been a splendid foil to Ashwin. At 34, this was his last opportunity to make an impact in Test cricket and he has seized it with both hands. He has returned fitter, quicker through the air, bothered the main batsmen with his mix of leg-spin and wrong ’uns, and has shown fine ability to run through the tail. With 12 wickets in two Tests, Mishra has sealed his place in the side for another series at least if not more.