I am struggling with my rhythm initially: Ashwin

It has been a remarkable series against New Zealand for Ravichandran Ashwin with 20 wickets so far but India’s off-spinner says he has struggled to get into rhythm at the start of his spells.

Ashwin bowled superbly on Monday to take six for 81 to skittle out the visitors for 299.

“It’s very important for me to get into a good rhythm. Throughout this series, I have not really started in a fine rhythm. I’m trying to get my alignment and rhythm properly, it’s taking me a few overs. Once I go through it, and when my body starts going completely into the ball, the spells start getting better, and that was one of the spells after lunch,” he said.

India, who made a massive 557 for 5 declared, thus grabbed a lead of 258 to place themselves in the driver’s seat at the end of day three of the third Test.

“It’s about getting into a good rhythm and being able to accelerate and get through the crease fast. So that’s what I really look forward to and once I get into a good rhythm, I think I can beat any batsman in the world. That’s where I stand right now,” said the off-spinner who is the second fastest bowler in the world to reach the 200 Test wicket landmark.

“I come into a series with a plan, especially taking off from where Kane Williamson got out in Bangalore when they came here last year. He lunged forward and got out at slips. So that’s one of the things I thought I would repeat in this series,” he explained about his excellently planned dismissal of the visiting team’s captain in the post lunch period.

Although Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav ended wicket-less, Ashwin praised the bowling of the pace duo.

About Ravindra Jadeja’s support, Ashwin said that the left arm spinner was good in deceiving batsmen with straight balls on a track with some help to the spin bowlers.

Ashwin also defended India’s strategy of not enforcing the follow on, saying both he and Jadeja were tired after bowling long spells.

He also said that the wicket sported more roughs on the side opposite to the pavilion.

“It’s turning more from the pavilion end, because there’s rougher, because of the left-arm fast bowler’s footmarks. That’s not spinning a lot, hopefully it will deteriorate,” said the off-spinner who took all his wickets by bowling from the pavilion end and so did Jadeja.

About coach Anil Kumble, Ashwin said, “We have good discussions on cricket, good discussions on what we could be doing for different batsmen. He gives different plans about how we can change up when we go into lunch or tea. If somebody is batting well, he gives you different ideas about what fields you can have, how differently I can throw the ball wide into Tom Latham, for instance, at Eden (Garden).

“It was Anil Kumble’s idea in the tea break. He was the one who asked me to push the lines wider and see how it goes, and it worked. He’s also a person I can go and talk to and take feedbacks. I enjoy the conversations I have with him.”