Batting at No. 6 was a complete surprise: Ravichandran Ashwin

The first Test at Antigua was a special Test match for the Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as he went on to score a brilliant century and claim a 7-for in the second inning with the ball. India won the match by an innings and 92 runs, their biggest win outside the subcontinent.

In the end, it proved to be one of the best Test matches for Ashwin. Speaking about the game, he said, “For me, the most important thing coming into this game and series was to take a five-wicket haul. To be batting at No. 6 was a complete surprise for me. Virat (Kohli) told me on the morning of the match and I really liked what he said. He told me ‘Wet trust you and want you to bat at No.6 and see how it works'”.

“I wanted to give something back to the team. I wanted to show I was good at No. 6 and wanted to lend some solidity. From there on, it was quite tiring innings and I played about 250 balls. I wanted to exhibit how I can bowl after a tiring innings as well, so I was pleased with that,” he added.

Ashwin became the first Indian to score a hundred pick up a 7-wicket haul in the same Test. Overall, he is the third player to achieve this feat after Jack Gregory and Ian Botham. “These are some of the biggest names that cricketing world as ever heard. To be really modest and analytical of it, it has taken me five years for me to repeat it outside the sub-continent, that is something I always wanted to break.”

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“Getting a five-wicket haul away from sub-continent is something I have worked earnestly towards and I am really pleased with myself,” said the off-spinner.

He said that Anil Kumble helped him in understanding the pace at which he should bowl. “That is the biggest advantage of having Anil bhai in the dressing room. In the first innings, I went wicketless for about 25-25 overs that I bowled in the match. In the past, that would have definitely troubled me as I am a bowler who likes to keep getting wickets.”

“I kept speaking to him about what I was doing right and what I wasn’t. Obviously, he felt that my body was not going through as it was a little tired. He also told me to slow down a little at the crease. He gave me different ideas about what lines I can bowl to batsmen. It is about the knack of getting wickets and it is a good that we shared today,” he added.

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Virat Kohli scored a double century and captained the side to victory, but it was Ashwin who was awarded as the Man of the match award. “Honestly, I think this Man of the Match award could have gone to Virat Kohli as well. If I had not got a five-wicket haul or if I had just got a five-wicket haul, I would have shared with him, but with seven wickets and a hundred, I felt I deserved it a bit more. But I am sure with the kind of form he is in and the way he is batting, he is going to go and cap it up somewhere on this tour.”