Staying true to his word, Ravichandran Ashwin brought out the newest variation in his arsenal in Kings XI Punjab’s IPL opener against the Delhi Daredevils.
The Kings XI skipper had talked about adding leg-spin to his bowling ahead of the IPL.
The India off-spinner has seen himself and Ravindra Jadeja replaced by wrist-spinners in the team’s limited-overs setup with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal establishing themselves as the preferred options.
With wrist-spinners currently the flavor in international cricket, Ashwin had indicated that he would be trying out some leg-spin in the IPL as he seeks to keep himself on top of the international game.
While bowled off-spin in the opening over for his side on Sunday, Ashwin chose to keep his leg-spinner a secret until his second of the day.
Ravichandran Ashwin: Right Arm Off/Leg spin! 😂😂#IPL #KXIPvDD
— Nachiket Acharya (@nachiket2613) April 8, 2018
Bowling outside the power-play in his second over, Ashwin bowled leg-spin that was reminiscent of Anil Kumble at his peak. The off-spinner beat Daredevils batsman Vijay Shankar all ends up with sharp turn and bounce.
He attempted that delivery three times in the over although one slid down the leg side for a wide.
The 31-year-old did not go overboard with his newest variation, using them sparingly but effectively as he ended up with excellent figures of 1-23 from his four overs to help restrict the Daredevils to 166-7 in their 20 overs.
