WTC Final: Decoding David Warner's struggles versus R Ashwin

The 2023 ICC World Test Championship final will see the between the two powerhouses in world cricket, India and Australia. The Kennington Oval in London will host this high-voltage duel, starting on June 7. Meanwhile, the battle between Ravichandran Ashwin and David Warner will be to watch out for in the contest. Here we decode their stats against each other.

• Though Warner owns a sensational Test record, he has had a hard time in the last 15 months.
• Moreover, his Test record in England is nothing but paltry.
• The southpaw has particularly struggled against Ashwin, who tends to turn the ball away from left-handed batters.
• The off-spinner has also tasted decent success on England tracks that do not assist spinners much.

Ashwin has firmly dominated Warner in Tests, dismissing him 11 times in 20 innings. The veteran batter has accumulated just 194 runs in this battle at a paltry average of 17.63. He has smashed Ashwin for 22 boundaries and three sixes in the longest format. Meanwhile, only seasoned England pacer Stuart Broad (14) has dismissed Warner more often in Tests.

Interestingly, Ashwin has dominated Warner in Australia as well. While he has dismissed the Aussie six times in Tests in India, the offie got the better of Warner five times Down Under. Notably, tracks in Australia aren't known to help spinners a lot.

Ashwin indeed enjoys bowling against the left-handed batters as he owns 241 wickets in 172 Test innings against them. While no bowler owns as many or more dismissals versus southpaws, veteran England pacer James Anderson is second on the list with 212 dismissals. Meanwhile, on England soil, Ashwin has returned with 18 wickets in seven Tests at a decent average of 28.11.

The 2019 Ashes was Warner's last Test assignment in England and the southpaw could only manage 95 runs across 10 innings in that tour. Overall, he owns 651 runs in 13 Tests in England at 26.04. Coming to his record versus off-spinners, he has been dismissed 37 times in 85 innings against them. His average in this regard is a decent 33.18.

Warner has clobbered 8,158 runs in 103 Tests, averaging a healthy 45.57. He has slammed 25 tons and 34 fifties (HS: 335* vs Pakistan). Earlier this year, Ashwin became the fastest Indian to complete 450 Test wickets, accomplishing the milestone in 89 Tests. He has overall raced to 474 wickets in 92 Tests at 23.93 (5W: 32, 10W: 7).