Ind vs Ban, 1st Test – Ashwin – ‘Compartmentalising batting and bowling got it right’

He scored 113 off 133 balls and helped the home team score 376 in the first innings. The bowlers then ran through Bangladesh, bowling them out for 149 and taking almost complete control of the proceedings.

Ashwin departed with 144 for 6 and quickly applied what he had learned in a long career, that as he wields the bat, he needs to be a completely different person to the one who has become one of the great bowlers. in history.

“At the moment, I can follow that and separate the two and see as a cricketer. So, when I go there. [to bat] all I wanted to do was solve my game. The mind knows how to play tricks because I am a bowler who plays with 12, 18, 24 balls in front when I sequence them. As a batsman, I shouldn’t do that. I just use my information when I log in. So, now it’s about focusing on the ball and hitting it as I see it.”

“Both. [The England Test] he rode a lot. We lost the first one and reached the second one. The last time I played in Chennai, I felt like I was coming back in more ways than one. I was walking a little here and there. I went to Australia and came back here. That was different and I enjoyed it. I think my hitting has gotten a lot better since that game. I worked a lot on how to increase my shots, increase my game. I worked on how to bowl fast and all that kind of stuff. I’m glad it’s coming out well.”

Ashwin is doing this – pushing himself even at 38 with 500 wickets in the bag – for a very simple reason.

“Happiness. You want to be good. You succeed. You feel happy at the end of the day. It drives me to that. Every time I do well, it leaves me in a good state of mind. That’s what you get. In this journey you want to do well. People watch you and you feel good about it.

There was a time when Ashwin could not find a way to play cricket with this kind of freedom. “I used to criticize myself before but not so much now because I put pressure on myself. Not only did I put myself under pressure, but there was pressure from outside as well. I used to get pleasure from answering my critics with my answer. performance, or in a press conference But not now. The most important thing for me these days is to enjoy my game, by staying in the moment, by playing my cricket four-five years ago, I made a promise to myself, with great difficulty, that I would not answer to anyone from then on and I would play for my own happiness and I keep that to this day.

As is often the case with his bowling, Ashwin had Jadeja as his partner during his 199-run seventh-wicket stand.

“You don’t plan for things like that. Jaddu is one of the best cricketers ever. I’m always jealous of him. I’ve made that clear. He’s gifted, he’s got talent. He’s found ways to develop his skills. He really keeps it. He can repeat it every day. I wish I could be him but I’m glad I’m a freaking good cricketer. The last few years have given me an understanding of how to be better. We’ve both done some special things and we’re both enjoying each other’s success more than ever.”