The veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday asserted that more than the turning Chepauk pitch, it was the “mind of the England batsmen” that helped his team dominate the second Test in Chennai, crediting his “pace and guile” for getting the maximum out of the track. The quality of the pitch was immensely questioned and former England players like Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen mocked it for being a dust bowl. England assistant coach Graham Thorpe had termed it “challenging”.

Ashwin, who was named man-of-the-match for finishing the game with the figures of 8 for 96 and a brilliant century in India’s second innings, played down the talk surrounding the pitch. During the post-match press conference, Ravichandran Ashwin said, “As much as people were predicting things from the outside, I thought the balls that were doing much weren’t getting wickets. It was the mind of the batsmen that got us wickets. Keeping intent was very important.”

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The veteran Indian spinner also expressed that he enjoyed his game in front of the home crowd as he is “aware” of the home conditions. 

Talking about his fifth Test ton that came in India’s second innings, he said, “It is very important to put the pressure on the bowlers because if you allow them to dictate terms, it is going to get easier. I just wanted to take it upon myself, and after I connected the first ball, I knew I got a hang of this wicket. I am someone who tries hard, and when things don’t go my way, I try harder.”

Ashwin said his batting clicked on the advice of batting coach Vikram Rathour and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.

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Explaining the same, Ravichandran Ashwin said, “Vikram Rathour has been very supportive. My batting was more about hands, to think tactically instead of technically. Ajinkya played a crucial role in telling me that I was overthinking it. That innings in Sydney really set the tone for me.”