Nathan Lyon and Ravichandran Ashwin, two of the greatest Test spinners of the modern era, have faced off against star England batter Joe Root. Root has spent years trying to figure out how the two situate a batter. According to Joe Root, Ashwin is not afraid to mix things up, even in the longest format, and has a few surprises under his sleeve. The Indian off-spinner, in his opinion, kept him wondering all the time and eventually managed to keep a few dismissal options open.
These two finger-spinners are the best players in their respective teams and recently amassed 500 wickets in Test matches. Lyon was at his best with ten wickets in the first Test against New Zealand, while Ashwin was back to his best in the Ranchi Test, taking five wickets. In the 692 balls that Root has faced from Ashwin during the Tests, he has scored 418 runs. But as many as seven times, the experienced off-spinner has dismissed Root.
He is very good at trying to drag you across the crease- Joe Root on facing Ravichandran Ashwin
In the early parts of the contest, when Lyon tries to get on top of the ball, the England batter claimed that Ashwin is good at dragging you across the wicket and beating the edges. Regarding Ravichandran Ashwin, Joe Root stated in an interview with the Sky Sports Podcast:
“I’d say, Ashwin is making sure that you don’t play the previous ball. He is very good at trying to drag you across the crease and get your head to one side of it and beat both edges quite frequently. Ashwin is probably slightly trying to find ways of getting you out rather than trying to wear you down, over long periods of time,”
“He gets slower with his pace and drift wider into that”- Joe Root on Nathan Lyon’s approach
Joe Root believes Nathan Lyon follows a more predetermined strategy, trying to be patient with a tight line and length while waiting for the batter to make a mistake.
The majority of the times Lyon has bowled to Root, it has been on pitches where the spinner hasn’t had much immediate assistance. According to the former England captain, Lyon tends to acquire extra bounce and engage the close catchers in these kinds of situations.
But as the match goes on and the rough spots appear, Root believes Lyon attempts to take advantage of them by spreading his line a little more.
“With Lyon it is all about, I think, especially in the first half of the Test match to get really over the top of the ball, get bounce bowl in between you like the knee roll and hit and try to bring short leg and leg slip into the game as much as he can and then just slowly, get slower with his pace and drift wider into that. There’s that footmarks, um, Mitchell Starc has so kindly done for him for such a long period of time,” Joe Root explained.
Joe Root has been dismissed an incredible eight times in Test cricket by Nathan Lyon.
Both Lyon and Ashwin have recently joined the 500-wicket club in Test cricket, and Ashwin will play his 100th Test against England on Thursday, March 7, at Dharamshala.