Ashwin 'all in' when targeting batsmen

Ahead of Australia’s crucial World T20 clash against India tonight, two key players for the host-nation have offered some fascinating insights into their mental and tactical approaches to Twenty20 cricket.

In exclusive interviews conducted by Star Sports India with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravi Ashwin, the pair have revealed some of their philosophies on the shortest format of the game.

Australia face India tonight (1am AEDT, Monday morning) in what is effectively a quarter-final, with the winner to take on the West Indies in a semi-final and the loser knocked out.

Anyone who thought the format was a mindless slog-fest ought to listen to Ravi Ashwin discuss the mental side of bowling in T20.

As a skilful, but not a big-turning off-spinner, Ashwin explained how he channels his inner Kenny Rogers when bowling to aggressive batsman targeting him.

“I go all in,” he says. “That’s as simple as I can keep it. That’s why my favourite game is poker.

“You have to play the man, you actually have to get rid of him. That’s the best way to stem the flow of runs in a T20 game.

“When you come up against someone who’s really attacking … I look to get him out, that’s the best way to go about it.”

Knowing when to hold them and when to fold them is important for Ashwin, who is often entrusted with bowling in the power play.

Equally important is the art of the bluff, a tactic he likes to use in the first six overs.

“Very often when you change your field, batsman are expecting you to bowl to that field and that’s something I play around with (in the power play),” Ashwin explains.

“When (batsmen) are expecting something and they don’t get it, more often than not shots in T20 are premeditated especially in the first six overs, so batsman are very dependent on the fields.

“So I play around with the fields, I throw balls in there that they are not expecting.

“For instance, I’ll bring mid-on and mid-off up, and batsmen are not expecting the ball to be flighted up, so I will flight the ball as they are probably expecting a flatter one.”

The man who so often places his faith in Ashwin is MS Dhoni.

India's captain in T20 and one-day cricket, Dhoni has provided an insight into what he may elect to do should he win tonight’s toss against Australia captain Steve Smith.

With the match beginning at 7.30pm local time, both skippers will be well aware of the impact that dew can have on the ability of spin-bowlers to grip the ball during night games in India.

“Any time after 7pm, you have to be careful of the dew factor,” Dhoni said.

“Spin is our strength so if we know that there will be a considerable amount of dew on the field, (we) like to bowl first. It’s not a fixed thing, but it’s something we like to do.

“(Our) strength is that we have (good) spinners and you lose that to some extent (when bowling second).

“(I like to) give that opportunity to the spinners to bowl first when the dew is slightly less compared to the second innings.

“And this team has shown that it can chase just as well as it can (set a total).”

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