India’s seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was unable to pick between his century against England in 2021 and his latest hundred against Bangladesh in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It was the same venue in 2021 against England when Ashwin dug deep and turned the tides in India’s favour with his 106 off 148 deliveries. Three years later, when Bangladesh managed to reduce India to 144/6, Ashwin took the mantle of putting runs on the board alongside Ravindra Jadeja.
His 113 set the tone of the opening Test and allowed India to exude control on a benign surface in Chennai. After the end of the second day’s play, Ashwin was unable to pick which century he liked better out of the two.
“Both. [The England Test] had so much riding on it. We lost the first one and came to the second. Last time, when I played at Chennai, I felt like I was making sort of a comeback in more than one way. I was a little here and there. I went to Australia and came back here. That was different, and I enjoyed it,” Ashwin said at the end of the second day, as quoted from ESPNcricifo.
“I think my batting has come along a lot better since that particular game. I worked quite a lot on how I can maximise my shots, maximise my game. I worked on how I can play fast bowling and all that sort of stuff. I’m glad it’s coming out nicely,” he added.
The 38-year-old relied on the experience that he has gained over his illustrious career to pull India out of a tricky situation. He stayed on the crease, took his time, but scored runs as he was aware of everything that was on offer from the first delivery.
“At this stage, I am able to sequence that and split both of them and see as a cricketer. So, when I walked there [to bat], the only thing I wanted to do was settle down my game. The mind can play tricks because I am a bowler who plays on 12, 18, and 24 balls ahead when I am sequencing it. As a batter, I shouldn’t do that. I just use my experience when I get in. So, now it’s more about just focussing on the ball and hitting it as I see it,” Ashwin said.
Apart from Ashwin and Jadeja’s heroics, India dictated the flow of play by putting in their pacers to great effect. Jasprit Bumrah (four), Akash Deep (two) and Mohammed Siraj (two) combined to pick eight wickets, forcing Bangladesh to fold on 149. India came out to bat once again and ended the day with a massive lead of 308 runs.
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