England vs India: Alastair Cook keen to take on Ravi Ashwin at Trent Bridge

At some point on the second day of the ongoing Trent Bridge Test, England’s opener Alastair Cook will come out to bat. Despite the team winning handsomely in the last two matches, he will be under some pressure to score runs and the venue hasn’t been fruitful to him either. Moreover, Ravi Ashwin has been his nemesis over the years and troubled him at Edgbaston as well. However, the left-hander is keen to take him on in the second Test match and is looking forward for the exciting battle.

Cook was castled by two beauties by the Indian off-spinner in Birmingham and he has clearly struggled to come to the terms. Even the conditions have been tough for the batsmen and both the sides have not fared well in that aspect. But England veteran has been going through a lean patch for a long time now as he has scored only 2 tons in his last 22 innings. He will have to hit the straps soon else the home side might find it tough at Trent Bridge.

Credit to Ravi

Alastair Cook, while speaking to Sky Sports, credited to Ashwin for getting better of him a couple of times but was ready to accept the challenge which Test cricket presents every now and then. “Credit to Ravi that on two occasions he has managed to beat my outside edge. I’ve had a couple of good balls and you’ve just got to trust yourself. This is the battle of Test cricket,” he said.

Nottingham is not a happy hunting venue for the 33-year-old. He hasn’t scored many runs and is also going through tough times with the bat. However, Cook believes that the record has to change someday and it would be great if he manages to do it in this Test match.

“One way to look at it is that it has to change at some stage and it would be nice to change it today. DRS has changed what you can get away with. I was taught to play spin with bat and pad together and you got away with stuff. For the right reasons it has changed and you’ve got to hit a lot more with the bat and early on you’re concerned about the one that goes straight on,” the left-hander added.

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