Ravichandran Ashwin did his homework right

Nagpur, February 11

Ravichandran Ashwin, who picked up 5/37 in Australia’s second innings for a match haul of 8/79, said his plan was to lure the visiting batters into playing the drive shot and induce mistakes from them on a slow track here.

The wicket was very slow. I have been saying this all through the Test. (It’s) Not one of those pitches where you might get the gloves ripping off at short-leg or silly point. You need to get the batsman driving on this wicket. Ravichandran Ashwin, India bowler

“The wicket was very slow. I have been saying this all through the Test… Not one of those pitches where you might get the gloves ripping off at short-leg or silly point. You need to get the batsman driving on this wicket,” Ashwin said after the match. “So, I thought giving them (Australia batters) one of two balls to drive, induce them into shots and probably induce the other half of the bat as well.”

The veteran also spoke highly of fellow spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, who were good with the bat too.

Jadeja scored 70 runs in India’s first-innings total of 400 and took seven wickets for 81, while Patel contributed 84 with the bat to end up as the second-highest scorer for India after captain Rohit Sharma (120).

“To say (that I got) massive help from Jaddu (Jadeja) would be an understatement. He has been in phenomenal form. In the last three years, the way he has batted and bowled… We don’t need to talk how well he moves on the field and how much addition he has been to the team; he has just been a fantastic cricketer,” he said. “I am so thankful that I got a bowling partner like him. Axar is also no ordinary bowler either. So, we have a very good set of spinners and we all can bat as well,” said Ashwin.