Former England captain Nasser Hussain lauded off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his sensational spell in the second innings of the fourth Test at Ranchi. However, Ashwin had struggled by his high standards so far in the series, with only 12 wickets in seven innings and no five-wicket hauls as well. But Ashwin turned the table with an incredible 35th five-wicket haul in the penultimate Test as well.
In his column for the Daily Mail after play on Day 3, Hussain wrote: “People have been saying Ashwin has had a quiet series, but this game has been a reminder that you don’t keep a great cricketer down. Root proved as much in England’s first innings, and Ashwin underlined the point in their second. You could see the fire in his eyes when Rohit gave him the new ball: he was determined to stamp his class on the series. He even treated us to a carrom ball to get rid of Foakes.”
Moreover, Nasser Hussain credited skipper Rohit Sharma for opening the bowling with the veteran off-spinner as well. It was also Ashwin’s 35th five-wicket haul in Tests, which drew him level with former spinner Anil Kumble for the most Test fifers by an Indian bowler as well.
“Rohit Sharma got it spot on when he opened the bowling with Ravichandran Ashwin, after delaying his entry for too long in the first innings at Rajkot. That allowed Duckett, who has struggled against Ashwin, to get off to a flyer, and Rohit wasn’t going to make that mistake again,” wrote Hussain.
“That’s what impresses me about this Indian team. You can have all the talent in the world, but unless you have that deep competitive instinct, that will to win, you risk coming up short. But even without the aggression of Virat Kohli, and the class of Jasprit Bumrah, you can tell how much they wanted it here,” concluded Nasser Hussain. “Rohit cares deeply, even if he doesn’t always show it in the same way as Kohli, and on the third day India showed their character as well as their class. That’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed most in this series, from both sides: there has been a lot of character on show, and it’s made for gripping cricket.”
