R Ashwin retires from international cricket: 3 factors that made him India's greatest match-winner in Tests

R Ashwin, one of the finest finger spinners in the history of the game, announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday, December 18, after the end of the third Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test at the Gabba.

The willy off-spinner and more than capable all-rounder hung his boots with 537 Test wickets, the second most by an Indian after Anil Kumble's 619, and a total of 765 wickets across all formats with 4394 runs as well.

In Tests, R Ashwin is the only bowler with six hundreds and over 500 wickets. His strike rate of 50.73 is the highest among the nine bowlers who have managed to pick up over 500 wickets in the format. His bowling average of 24 is also the third-best.

Ashwin walks away with a legacy of his own in Test cricket. He played 106 Tests, out of which India won 61. He is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (72) and Virat Kohli (62) in terms of players featuring in most Test victories for India. While Ashwin has been a part of the side, the team has had a win percentage of 57.55%.

As he pulled the curtains on his glorious international career, let us take a look at three factors that made him India's greatest match-winner in Tests.

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#3 Variations and control in bowling

R Ashwin is among those bowlers in Tests who are credited for their variations and control in bowling. Over the years, he worked on his alignment at the crease, bettering his foot landing and weight transfer, which in turn helped him use more revolutions on the ball and bowl with better control as well.

His lines over the years improved, shifting more towards the top of the off stump, being an attacking line that helped him pick up a plethora of wickets. His efficiency was a result of changes in pace, and several variations of the ball.

Not only did he flight the ball to give it a higher chance of dipping and spinning, but also used his arm ball and carrom ball to brilliant effect. With these, he also used other variations such as the top spinner, the slider, and the occasional leg-spin deliveries.

R Ashwin bowled with great control, often troubling batters by suffocating them from one end. He bowled a total of 4541 overs in Tests and maintained a career economy rate of just 2.83.

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#2 Reliable batting

Apart from being one of India's best spinners in Tests, R Ashwin was also a more than handy and reliable batter in the lower order. The 38-year-old ended his Test career with 3503 runs, which included 6 centuries and 14 half-centuries.

Ashwin often walked out to bat when the team was in a difficult position and bailed them out of trouble with his resilient batting. The biggest example is his famous effort with the bat in the Sydney Test during the 2020-21 BGT. He scored Test hundreds against the West Indies, Bangladesh, and England while he also has fifties against Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

A couple of his Test hundreds came in the West Indies while four came in India. He also has fifties in Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, scoring runs away from home.

There have also been times when R Ashwin has been as good as any top-order or middle-order batter. The right-hander batted at No. 6 and scored two Test hundreds. He also played spin well in the middle and became India's crisis man not just with the ball but with bat in hand too.

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#1 R Ashwin displayed remarkable consistency

The second-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests after Kumble with 537 scalps at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 50.73, R Ashwin was a consistent performer with the ball.

While many big performances have overshadowed his display on several occasions, the off-spinner has gone about his business, doing his bit to help India win games. For example, when MS Dhoni played his historic 224-run knock in Chennai, Ashwin bagged 12 wickets.

Similarly, when Virat Kohli scored a double-hundred against the West Indies in North Sound in 2016, Ashwin slammed a century as well apart from picking up seven wickets in the match. He also has 11 'Player of the Series' awards in Tests, the most by any cricketer, which reflects his consistency in not just winning games but also contributing to series wins for India over the years.