Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is hopeful of India’s victory in the ongoing third Test against New Zealand after dominant display on Day 2 of the match at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
India took a handy first innings lead of 28 runs thanks to half-centuries from Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) after the visitors were bowled out for 235 on the opening day.
In the second innings, the Kiwi batting line-up crumbled and went to the stumps with 171/9 on the board, leading India by 143 runs. Ravindra Jadeja (4-52) and Ashwin (3-63) were the wrecker-in-chief with the ball, sharing seven scalps between them.
“Hopefully not many, we should wrap it up with one or two runs here and there. Any runs saved in this innings is going to be much more critical. It’s not going to be easy, we’ll have to bat really well," Ashwin told former teammate Dinesh Karthik in a snap interview for Jio Cinema.
The off-spinner was quite surprised with the nature of low bounce on this Wankhede pitch. “Expected a lot more bounce. It has been quite slow which is a surprise. It’s not a typical Bombay pitch, much slower."
Ashwin also showcased his fielding prowess with a remarkable sideways running catch to dismiss the dangerous Daryl Mitchell on Day 2 of the Mumbai Test.
Mitchell came down the track to loft Ravindra Jadeja, but didn’t get the desired connection as the ball went up high in the air.
Ashwin, who was stationed at mid-off, sprinted at full tilt and covered considerable ground. He then turned sideways to stay side-on and finally extended his hands to complete a stunning diving catch.
Reflecting on his catch, Ashwin said: “For all the flak you’ve given me overs the years (to Karthik), I don’t think I’ve dropped many. I have got great hands and I trusted it. I was just telling myself that it’s going to anyway leave me, I wanted to get as close to the ball as possible."
The highlight of Ashwin’s spell was his magical delivery to get rid of Glenn Phillips, who was batting on 26 off 14 balls. The seasoned campaigner unleashed an unplayable carrom ball, which knocked over Phillips’ off-stump.
Commenting on the dismissal, Ashwin said, “The game itself is divided into two halves. The one from the pavilion end and from the other end, it’s slightly behaving differently. It’s slightly flatter from the one where we are bowling from the dressing room side, the bounce is much lesser. So I thought I will try and use it the other way.”
“The (NZ) batters are also knowing that it’s easier to take me on from this side. So I wanted to give something different," he further remarked.
On Day 3, the hosts will look to take the remaining one wicket as quicky as possible and then chase down the target to finish the series at 2-1.
(With inputs from Agencies)
