In his illustrious Test career, R Ashwin has scripted some of India’s famous victories with the ball and also chipped in with vital batting contributions on numerous occasions.

On Sunday (December 25), the off-spinner starred with the bat as India pulled off a thrilling three-wicket win over Bangladesh in the second Test in Dhaka to clinch the series 2-0.

Chasing 145 to win, the visitors were reeling at 74/7. Amid the pressure situation, Ashwin produced an unbeaten knock of 42 and added an unbeaten 71-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (29*) to take India over the finishing line.

Speaking after the game, Ashwin said he has worked a lot on different aspects of his batting, like his backlift, power-hitting and rates his defence strongly.

"I rate my defence strongly. Test cricket is played around defence as a batter. Modern cricket asks you to take the aerial route. I do not think it is right when two bowlers are making pressure on you. You cannot get away with it every time. It looks great when it comes off, but Tests under pressure need to be played with a steely defence. I have played a lot more shots, have confidence to clear the fence. I have worked a lot on my backlift, my base and power-hitting. I have that confidence in me," Ashwin told team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara in a video posted on bcci.tv.

When Ashwin walked out to bat, India still needed 71 runs and his first target was to get through the lunch. He also praised Shreyas Iyer for his composure.

"When I walked out I thought we had to grind through the situation. Shreyas had a really good composure. I just told him to get his job done, be it in 10 overs or after lunch. Initially, my aim was to get through lunch. There was some balls that went here and there. There was a catch that went to fine leg. So I thought I need to push up the intent and also have a good defence. We played well and pushed the accelerator at the right time," said Ashwin.

On the other hand, Pujara expressed his satisfaction after displaying a range of strokes throughout the series.

"I was really happy with the way things went in the second innings (in first Test). It was an ideal situation to showcase the shots I had been practicing. Lot of credit goes to white-ball cricket for Sussex and Saurashtra, it helped me gain confidence," India’s No. 3 batter said.

In the end, Ashwin said he is looking forward to defending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home, slated to get underway on February 9, 2023.