We played Ravichandran Ashwin like a regular bowler: Akhil Herwadkar

Mumbai opener Akhil Herwadkar made up for the disappointing outing in the first innings, where he scored a duck, with a classy century in the second innings against Tamil Nadu in the round 3 of the Ranji Trophy. The southpaw scored 132 off 244 balls, courtesy 14 boundaries and three hits which went the distance. The batsman had an ordinary outing in the Duleep Trophy and hardly made any contribution in the match against Madhya Pradesh earlier in the Ranji season.

He along with in-form youngster Shreyas Iyer took apart the Tamil Nadu bowling attack and especially took a liking against India’s ace Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The Indian spinner’s last Ranji season was way back in the year 2012 and he didn’t enjoy getting belted in this particular occasion.

It was crucial for me: Herwadkar

“It was crucial for me. I got a good start last year before foot injury struck. It feels good to have scored a 100 for Mumbai. However, we were short of runs in the first innings as the wicket was a complete batting track,” Herwadkar said after Mumbai’s encounter with Tamil Nadu ended in a dull draw.

“Pressure is there every time. It is good for the team. Nobody can take their place for granted. It is also good for me as I will be able to perform and it will also help the team.” he added

On how he countered Ashwin, who has been impressive for India with the red ball. He said”He is a world class bowler. We were asked to watch him out and play a positive game. We did not get carried away because he is Ashwin and played him like a regular bowler.”

“He did not use much variations as the ball was already going away for me, but he used carom ball and leg spin for the righties.” he pointed out.