Ashwin: Proud to have played a role in this attack

During the Kanpur Test, Mominul Haque displayed exceptional bravery in the first innings, scoring an impressive 107 runs while his teammates struggled and got out quickly.

At close of play on Day 4, Bangladesh were 26/2 and their hopes of holding out for a draw lay largely with Mominul, who was at the crease on 0. He has shown that he could take all that the Indian bowlers could throw at him and do more than survive.

But that long stint in the middle also allowed the Indian bowlers to get a good look at him. They went back to the analyst and as R Ashwin so often does, he found a chink in the armour.

Mominul had swept very well in first innings but he was also playing it fine very often. So, this time, Ashwin had a plan. The ball pitched outisde leg and tempted the batter into going for the sweep. But the ball turned and bounced and the thick upper edge flew straight to KL Rahul who was placed at leg slip for precisely this scenario.

This is the quality that makes India so tough to beat at home. There isn’t even a hint of complacency, neither by the team nor by Ashwin. The early breakthrough set India on the path to victory in a match which saw 235 overs being lost to rain.

With 11 wickets and a century in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Ashwin was adjudged the Player-of-the-Series. It was the 11th time he has earned the honour and this now the equal highest with Muthiah Muralitharan.

“I’m glad to turn up performances for the team. A massive win for us in the context of where the WTC points table stands. I mean, I think with regards to this game, when he bowled them out after lunch, Rohit gave that talk – we wanted to go for it,” Ashwin said.

He also praised skipper Rohit Sharma’s tactical brilliance. “He (Rohit) stepped out and hit the first ball for six and he set that tone. How Jassi bowled, how Siraj and Akash bowled, you don’t have to say much about Jaddu. Proud to be part of this attack,” he said.

“We expect a team with such experience to make those adjustments. I don’t use the carrom ball as much as I do in white-ball cricket and it’s about building a spell and getting into the rhythm. Rohit was keen that we needed at least 80 overs to bowl at them. He said even if we get bowled out for 230, it’s okay. He set the tone by stepping out aggressively right from the first ball.”

Ashwin, along with Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, was instrumental in India’s bowling dominance. Bangladesh, resuming their second innings at 26/2 on the final day, were bowled out for just 146 as India’s bowlers took charge. He explained the challenges of bowling on surface of the Green Park Stadium that did not offer much turn but helped bowlers who could extract bounce and overspin.

“You get more help with the new ball than the old ball on this pitch. The ball doesn’t leave the surface easily, so it’s important to stay disciplined. I was happy to settle into my rhythm, and the revs I put on the ball made a difference,” he said.

Bangladesh’s coach Hathurusinghe sounded disappointed with team’s overall performance in the series, especially after enjoying success against Pakistan in Pakistan before coming to India.

“Batting has been disappointing. We have not been performing to our potential in the last few series,” he said. “Another factor is also the quality of the opposition, and the skill level on display in this series was very high, and we are learning a lot from here. Going forward, we will know what the top standard is, since this is the best team (you can play against). Playing India is the toughest assignment at this stage, so we know how much we need to improve.”

“Defeat is really hurting us, it’s because of our performance,” Hathurusinghe added. “This approach was not seen before, and we did not react quickly and credit to Rohit and his team for taking such an approach and making a game out of it…”