Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken aim at what he describes as a misguided narrative from commentators in the aftermath of India’s loss to England in the first Test at Headingley. Despite India posting imposing totals of 471 and 364, India were unable to defend a 370-run target in the fourth innings, as England pulled off their second-highest successful chase in Test history.
“Once 370 was chased down (in the first Test), I thought the commentary became a diss about the Indian bowlers. I felt that the narrative built was pointing towards how Indian bowlers failed to win the match. But with a little homework, many would have realised that in England, scores have been consistently chased down in 4th innings,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
A call for context and balance
Ashwin emphasized the need for a more balanced post-match analysis, suggesting that the criticism lacked perspective.
“It’s not as black and white as saying, ‘the bowlers didn’t do the job’. The commentary, in my view, completely shifted focus post the chase. But if you look at the trends in England over the last few years, successful fourth-innings chases have become more common,” he said.
Batting failures and the missing ‘daddy hundreds’
While much of the flak fell on the bowlers, Ashwin turned the lens back on India’s batters, despite five of them notching up centuries across the two innings.
“Batters should take up responsibility. I know batsmen are making runs. Yes, we had five centurions, but where are the daddy hundreds? We have to resign to the fact that there would be no contribution (with the bat) from the lower order. Our fast bowlers cannot bat, they cannot muster runs,” Ashwin said.
His comments point to a deeper issue of converting starts into match-winning contributions, especially when lower-order support is limited.
The undervalued art of bowling maidens
Ashwin also questioned India’s bowling strategy, suggesting that a lack of discipline and control played a role in England’s successful chase.
“In Tests, I think maidens are quite underrated. Ideally, I would be okay with Bumrah going for a higher economy rate, but others should go low. I saw a show where someone said Siraj was unlucky to not be among wickets. I do agree he bowled well in the second innings, but the economy rate, you can’t let go and hope that things fall in place. In Tests, you have to build your bowling gradually from Day 1, and the rewards will come in the final innings,” he said.
He added that leaking runs early puts pressure on bowlers later, often forcing a conservative mindset that reduces wicket-taking chances.
“If you give away a lot of runs in the first innings, you tend to get conservative to stem the flow, and you won’t get wickets in this approach. If I was Morkel, I would tell the other bowlers not to do much since Bumrah is there. As the old saying goes, bowl three maidens, and you will get a wicket. Don’t you think a wicket would fall after three maidens in a row against this England side? Against this side, if you are giving two runs an over, it is as good as bowling a maiden,” Ashwin explained.
Series outlook
India now trail 1-0 in the five-match series and will look to bounce back in the second Test at Edgbaston. With Ashwin highlighting both tactical and psychological factors behind the defeat, the focus heading into the next match will be on whether the team can recalibrate its approach—and whether the commentary box can recalibrate its narrative.
