England’s experienced batter pinpointed the difference between off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Australia’s Nathan Lyon ahead of the Indian spinner’s 100th Test game.
Ashwin and Lyon belong to the elite company of 500 Test wickets. Lyon is already a member of players who have featured in 100 Test matches while Ashwin will enter the club during India’s 5th Test match against England.
Ahead of the Test, Root opened up about the difference between the two spinners and stated that Ashwin is someone who aims to take wickets with his variation while Lyon adopts the policy of wearing out a batter and then claiming the opposition’s wicket.
“Ashwin is making sure that you don’t play the previous ball he is very good at dragging you across the crease and get your head one side to it try and beat both edges quite frequently with Lyon it is all about over spin, especially in the first half of the Test match.
Looks to get really over the top of the ball get bounce, bowl in between like your knee rolling pad and hip and try to bring short leg and leg slip in the game as much as he can and then just slowly gets slower with his pace and drift wider. Whereas Ashwin is probably more slightly trying to find ways of getting you out rather than wearing you down like Lyon over the period of time,” Root said on Sky Sports podcast.
Ashwin in 99 Test appearances has bagged 507 wickets at an average of 23.9 and an economy of 2.79.
Ahead of the 37-year-old’s 100th Test, Root who played with Ashwin in last year’s Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals, hailed the veteran spinner for the number of variations he possesses in his arsenal which makes it hard for the batters to deal with him.