Veteran India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has admitted that the Wanderers pitch was two-paced and it became quicker as the game progressed. After bowling the visitors out for 202, South Africa finished the first day on 35 for 1. And, Ashwin looked the most comfortable of the Indian batters as he scored 46 off 50 balls to help his team cross the 200-run mark as well.
“I just felt the pitch was a little two-paced. Generally Wanderers has that tendency to start a bit slow and then start getting a bit quicker. It did quicken up a bit but it just feels a little different to a typical Wanderers pitch. So we’ll have to wait and see how it responds tomorrow – does it quicken up, does it continue to be two-paced, will the cracks open up – that’s something we can only judge at the end of the game,” Ravichandran Ashwin said at the post-day press conference.
READ HERE: Wasim Jaffer names batting-order for 2nd Test vs New Zealand
Meanwhile, stand-in captain KL Rahul once again did well with a gritty 50 off 133 balls. But the Indian team management would be concerned about Cheteshwar Pujara (3 off 33) and Ajinkya Rahane’s (0 off 1) constant poor show.
“With respect to staying upright or staying low, every batsman is different right and you will have to skin the cat the way you feel it. I think, when you go into bat, you also need that bit of luck to go your way – the way Elgar batted, he kept getting beaten – so you need that sort of a luck as well. I thought there was a very earnest attempt in terms of how we went about our business, but some of those dismissals do happen,” Ravichandran Ashwin elaborated.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin praised Jansen. Lauding his height advantage, the veteran off-spinner highlighted the way he bounced back from being jittery in his maiden innings to now having 9 wickets in his name as well.
ALSO READ: Fans react as the first Test between INDvNZ ended in a draw
“He’s special, he’s 6’8″, he’s got a bit of height, he’s got a bit of skill, he’s got a nice action, he gets close to the stumps with a quick side-on action. Whatever said and done, it’s not like somebody does a role in the nets and you can go out there and immediately sort it out. At the end of the day, all seamers have got wickets – Shami has got 9 wickets, Bumrah has got 8 odd wickets, Rabada has got wickets, Marco Jansen has also got wickets. It is South Africa, you expect quicks to get wickets, and to be overawed or to be over-cautious about anything is not worth it, you just go out and play the game. I thought he bowled well – first innings, I think he had a bit of nerves and he bowled really well in the last couple of innings,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
