Ravichandran Ashwin said he wasn’t “frustrated” for once during the century-plus partnership between Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj as he is just happy to be bowling again in a Test match rather than sitting outside.
“I don’t get frustrated and don’t want to get frustrated either as I am happy to be bowling again. Whoever bats again, I am happy to keep bowling at them,” Ashwin said. “I think the myth of tail-enders is over-stated and when someone bats well, he bats well. Nowadays, nobody is really a mug with the bat. In our team also, everybody bats pretty well till No 11.”
“Like I said, it is a good pitch and Philander batted beautifully. His defensive technique to spin and fast bowling was wonderful. He played with soft hands and the bat face was slightly running down,” he said.
“At least, I haven’t thought about the follow-on. I think the captain will decide overnight on what he should be doing. It is also important, how bowlers recover tomorrow morning,” he told.
Ashwin referred to the Pune pitch as a typical Indian track.
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“This is a typically Indian pitch from my experience. These are the kind of pitches you tend to get in first-class cricket, so I don’t see why it’s not a typical Indian pitch,” he shared.
He praised India’s top three batters, openers Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara.
“I thought (Kagiso) Rabada bowled beautifully but Rohit, Pujara and Mayank negotiated them really well in the morning (and afternoon). They kept beating the bat,” Ashwin said.
“Last evening, the way (Mohammed) Shami and Umesh (Yadav) ran in was extremely special. Because the way Shami was getting the ball to carry over to the keeper, it was a pleasant sight to see as it doesn’t happen often in India,” he said. “The pace attack of ours have completely earned the right of doing such things and we aren’t surprised about it anymore.”
He also praised Wriddhiman Saha’s keeping who replaced Rishabh Pant in the Test series at home.
“It’s a no-brainer to say that Saha is one of the best going around. I have hardly seen him miss anything from the rough and today you saw how he took Rabada’s (missed) cover drive. It just indicates what good set of hands he has got,” said Ashwin. “Saha has also got great composure too and you can’t really rule him out with the bat either. He has had some handy contributions for the team. He is a great character and great keeper to have in the team.”
