North Stand - 113 & 7-83: In a bizarre move, given Ravichandran Ashwin's batting credentials in the pre first-class days, the offspinner was promoted to No. 6 in the batting order. With the team management deciding to go in with five bowlers, they chose to experiment by testing the Tamil Nadu in the all-rounder's role. He responded to the management's faith by stroking a sublime 113, before returning to scalp 7 for 83 in West Indies' second innings and hand India a victory in their opening Test match of the year.
Kingston 5-52: While he failed with the bat in the only innings he played, his wily off-spin helped skittle out West Indies for 196 on the opening day of the Kingston Test. It required defiant batting by Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich and Jason Holder to save the Test, but Ashwin did finish with a fifer in the match
Gros Islet - 118: While Ashwin was still looking to improve his record overseas as a bowler, he came to the party yet again with the bat. This time he struck his fourth Test century - all against West Indies. While there were talks of how much he enjoys batting against them, the experiment of Ashwin the batsman at No. 6 too gained some serious heat.
One match was well-saved by West Indies, one was washed out as India finished the four-match Test series with a 2-0 win. Ashwin returned with 235 runs in 4 innings and 17 wickets in total to bag the Man of the Series award.
Kanpur - 4-93 and 6-132: Much like the West Indies series, the start of the long India season too gave signs of what was to come with regards to Ashwin. He finished with a 10-wicket haul, often breaking crucial partnerships at top of the order to help India beat New Zealand comfortably in Nagpur. With the bat, he struck a crucial 40 in the only innings he played.
Indore - 6-81 and 7-59: After an average show with both bat and ball in Kolkata, Ashwin delivered arguably his best performance with the ball. He took a total of 13 wickets in Indore's inaugural Test to help India win the match and sweep the series 3-0. It was his 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Not only was he awarded the Man of the Match, but was also adjudged the Man of the Series for bagging 27 wickets in three Tests.
In October 2016, he reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers from Rangana Herath.
6-12 and 6-55 in Mumbai: After being on the backfoot for most parts of the first innings, Ashwin's 12 wickets helped India script a turnaround and win the match by an innings. Barring Alastair Cook and Jos Buttler, he dismissed every batsman in the match at least once.
Ashwin reached 904 points in the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers. His rating was the second-best ever by an off-spinner after Muttiah Muralitharan (920), fifth best among spinners after Tony Lock (912), Derek Underwood (907) and Shane Warne (905), and 18th best in the overall list.
Even as Ashwin failed to bag the Man of the Series award following India's 4-0 win against England, he played an instrumental role in India's win with 306 runs in 7 innings and 28 wickets in five Tests.
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