With a conducive wicket on offer, will Ravichandran Ashwin play in the World Cup final? | Cricket-world-cup News

Rohit Sharma was non-committal about Ravichandran Ashwin’s chances of playing in the World Cup final. “Anyone from the 15 can play. We will have to see how the wicket looks tomorrow, and what it is, what our strength is, and what their weakness can be,” he said.
It’s perhaps on the word “weakness”, that the intrigue of Ashwin featuring in the final hangs.
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Why is Ashwin a threat for Australia?
In India’s World Cup opener against Australia, Ashwin not only kept them quiet but also threatened to grab a wicket almost every over. He finished with figures of 10-1-34-1, the scalp being Cameron Green, but could have added more wickets to his tally. Ashwin beat Steve Smith with a devilish carrom ball that spun almost like a leg-break.

In the two games he played against them before the World Cup, he had confounded the best of Australian batsmen with his full range of trickery. He had David Warner batting right-handed and trapped him in front on a reverse-sweep; he foxed Marnus Labuschagne with a reverse-carrom ball; he tormented Josh Inglis before nailing him in front. The off-spinner was fielded in the opening game not only because the Chepauk pitch helped spinners, but also due to his familiarity bowling against the cream of Australia’s batsmen.
What brightens his chances?
Only Stuart Broad has troubled David Warner more than Ashwin across formats; he could be the antidote against the counterpunching Travis Head too. India could even open the bowling with Ashwin. Smith and Ashwin have had their battles, and of late Ashwin has had the better of them. At Chepauk, he had beaten Smith with a delicious carrom ball; in the three-match series prior to the World Cup, he had laid bare Labuschagne’s inadequacies in handling quality spin bowling. His record at home against the Aussies is impressive though not outrageous (17 wickets at 31 in 11 games).

Does his experience matter?
Ashwin’s experience of being part of a victorious team in a knockout game against Australia — the World Cup quarterfinal in 2011 — could turn influential. In that game, he would knock out Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson, the latter bowled and the former caught when attempting a rare reverse hit. He had teased and coaxed the Aussie skipper into playing a shot that he seldom resorted to. Ashwin could recreate a similar effect on Sunday. Of all the Indian spinners, he could be the one Australia fear the most. He has the stifling control of Ravindra Jadeja and the raging variations of Kuldeep Yadav. Whereas the latter has been conservative about unloading his whole range to tricks, Ashwin has been parading multiple layers of deception lately.

Moreover, if the pitch is on the slower side, as it’s expected to be, an extra spinner, especially that with the supreme skills of Ashwin, would be a sensible decision rather than a third seamer.
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Rohit judged that the pitch could be on the slower side. “I still haven’t looked today how the wicket is but from my understanding obviously it’s slightly going to be on the slower side,” he said. Cummins felt it was on the “firmer side” and more conducive to racking up big scores unlike the one in Kolkata.

What could work against Ashwin?
Even without him, India have been a balanced bowling firm. Three seamers and two spinners have done the job with aplomb. Even Mohammed Siraj — the omission in case Ashwin plays — has snared 13 wickets at 32.61. Hence, it’s uncertain whether the team management would want to disrupt the status quo in the final.

Would Ashwin’s batting prowess come handy?
From a batting perspective too, Ashwin promises more runs and stability down the order than Siraj, the likeliest candidate to make way for the off-spinner. If so, Ashwin would end an old regret of his, sitting out of the 2011 final when S Sreesanth replaced him.
 
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