London: It baffles one to see Ravichandran Ashwin not being picked as India's frontline spinner. On Friday at The Oval, despite India going down to England by three wickets, Ashwin showed some classy variation, much more than what Harbhajan Singh has shown in the last couple of seasons. And it's not surprising that a bowler like Ashwin, who packs in quite a punch, isn't one to shy away from a fight. He's determined to go back to India from this tour after making it 2-2 in the ODI series.
"It is not exactly satisfying as we lost the game. We came back really well in the game especially after losing four top wickets. With due credit, we are no lesser side than the English side," he said after the game.
He bowled an absolutely peach of a delivery to castle Jonathan Trott before picking up the wickets of Ben Stokes and Ravi Bopara. His delivery to Trott drew the batsman forward, only to slide past the outside edge and hit the stump.
Stokes fell to Ashwin's guile as well as he moved right across to off and Ashwin's fuller and straighter one rattled the stumps. And Ravi Bopara, having hit the spinner for a boundary, would never have imagined that Ashwin will beat him in flight with the very next delivery. Bopara was beaten fair and square as he went through his shot only to find the ball spin viciously through the gate and dislodge the bail over leg stump.
"It gripped a bit, the odd ball was turning and skidding on. We don't get these kind of wickets in India as the bounce isn't there. I am enjoying my time in England. The ball to Trott was special, he didn't pick up the carrom ball," Ashwin said.
Ashwin said he was very happy for Ravindra Jadeja to have won the man of the match award.
"He pulled things back but unfortunately we didn't win."
Asked about his batting, Ashwin said, "I play higher up for Tamil Nadu in domestic so I can bat. I don't know what others think about my batting but I am personally very confident."
"We would take it match by match and look to go back to India 2-2," he added.
India play their fourth ODI on Sunday at The Lord's before heading to Cardiff for the fifth and final game on September 16.
"It is not exactly satisfying as we lost the game. We came back really well in the game especially after losing four top wickets. With due credit, we are no lesser side than the English side," he said after the game.
AP Photo
"They have won the Test series and are on a high right now, that means they are playing with much more energy which is helping them. We are playing some good cricket as well and we should do well soon, it is just a matter of time," said the bowler who picked up three for 40 from his nine overs. He bowled an absolutely peach of a delivery to castle Jonathan Trott before picking up the wickets of Ben Stokes and Ravi Bopara. His delivery to Trott drew the batsman forward, only to slide past the outside edge and hit the stump.
Stokes fell to Ashwin's guile as well as he moved right across to off and Ashwin's fuller and straighter one rattled the stumps. And Ravi Bopara, having hit the spinner for a boundary, would never have imagined that Ashwin will beat him in flight with the very next delivery. Bopara was beaten fair and square as he went through his shot only to find the ball spin viciously through the gate and dislodge the bail over leg stump.
"It gripped a bit, the odd ball was turning and skidding on. We don't get these kind of wickets in India as the bounce isn't there. I am enjoying my time in England. The ball to Trott was special, he didn't pick up the carrom ball," Ashwin said.
Ashwin said he was very happy for Ravindra Jadeja to have won the man of the match award.
"He pulled things back but unfortunately we didn't win."
Asked about his batting, Ashwin said, "I play higher up for Tamil Nadu in domestic so I can bat. I don't know what others think about my batting but I am personally very confident."
"We would take it match by match and look to go back to India 2-2," he added.
India play their fourth ODI on Sunday at The Lord's before heading to Cardiff for the fifth and final game on September 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment