‘Hard to wake up after such games’- Ravi Ashwin after Tamil Nadu’s defeat in the SMAT final

Ravi Ashwin, the veteran Indian cricketer, didn’t have the greatest of days on Sunday. His team Tamil Nadu lost the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Final to Karnataka by a mere one in Surat. Ashwin came in to bat with his side needing 30 runs off 17 balls with five wickets in hand. He started with a four and didn’t seem like straining. He had a massive task at hand in the last over the encounter.

Tamil Nadu needed 13 runs and Ashwin was facing off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham. Ashwin drilled the tweaker down the ground for a four to start the over and followed it up with another boundary. After the scorching strokes, Tamil Nadu needed a mere five runs in the next four balls. In the next delivery, Ashwin went for an ugly hoick on the leg side and was beaten all ends up.

Ashwin’s efforts go in vain

Ashwin got a single in the next ball and the target came down to four runs off the last couple of balls. The next ball saw Vijay Shankar, Ashwin’s partner, run for his life. Shankar, who was batting on 44, tried to complete an impossible second-run and got run out. Even a full-stretch dive couldn’t save him. Tamil Nadu needed three to win the thrilling southern derby in the Grand Finale.

But the bad news for them was that Ashwin was at the non-striker’s end. Murugan Ashwin, the new batsman, took the strike and he could fetch only a single in the last ball. All Ravi Ashwin could do was see from the other end. He ended with 16 runs off nine balls with three boundaries, but despite his quickfire knock at the death, Tamil Nadu failed to get over the finishing line.

After the match, Ashwin was a tad dejected. However, he was also happy to see the high-intensity game in the domestic circuit. Lastly, Ashwin didn’t miss out on congratulating both the teams for the spectacle in Surat.

The veteran took to Twitter and wrote, “It’s so hard to wake up after games like what we had last night, #KarVsTN and to play a game of such intensity in the domestic circuit is a delight to say the least. Well done again to both teams.”

Here is Ravi Ashwin’s tweet

It’s so hard to wake up after games like what we had last night, #KarVsTN and to play a game of such intensity in the domestic circuit is a delight to say the least. Well done again to both teams. 👏👏

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) December 2, 2019