Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his optimism about the batters performing well on the third day of the Ahmedabad Test against Australia. He stated that the outcome of the match might depend on how effectively the teams bat in the second innings, given the characteristics of the pitch. The 36-year-old shared his opinion that the key factor for success could be the batting performance.
Ashwin bowled 47.2 overs and took six wickets for 91 runs in Australia’s first innings. However, despite his remarkable performance, on the second day of the match on Friday, March 10, the visitors remained in a better position than Team India at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
After scoring a hundred, Usman Khawaja went on to make a significant contribution of 180 runs. Cameron Green, on the other hand, achieved his first Test century by scoring 114 runs. As a result, Australia managed to score 480 runs in their first innings.
Ravichandran Ashwin is positive about the Ahmedabad Test
During a press conference after the second day’s play, Ashwin was questioned about the future course of action for Team India in the Test match.
“I feel it’s a second-innings game. However, we need to respect that we need to bat really well and put a good score on the board. I am just looking forward to seeing some top-order batsmen make runs and have a cup of chai and probably turn up day after to bat. That is exactly what a bowler would like after a day like this. I’d be cheering the batters on from the bottom of my heart,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin acknowledged that the way Team India bats on the third day would be vital for the outcome of the Test match. He added that although Australia didn’t manage to bat India out of the game, they could have restricted them to a lower total.
“Tomorrow is a very important day for us, batting-wise. How the game pans out will depend on our batting performance tomorrow. Australia had a good chance to score 550-600 and shut us out of the game. That did not happen, but we also could have conceded 30-40 runs fewer. But all this is hindsight,” he added.
While taking six wickets in the match, Ashwin surpassed Anil Kumble’s record of most wickets by an Indian bowler in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Kumble had taken 111 wickets in 20 Tests, whereas Ashwin achieved this feat in his 22nd Test, taking his tally to 113 wickets. Interestingly, Australian bowler Nathan Lyon has also taken 113 wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Test series.
Ashwin also talked about the Day-3 surface
Out of all the pitches used in the series, the Ahmedabad pitch has been the most favorable for batting. According to Ashwin, the pitch is likely to continue to be good for batting on the third day before it gradually starts to deteriorate.
“All I know is that there is enough cut grass and there is enough rolling of water that’s gone underneath that surface. I play a lot of cricket in Chennai, where there is a lot of cut grass and rolling. I expect the pitch to be nice and easy paced and probably break as the game goes on, which I hope is not for the next five sessions,” he said.
