He has been a fantastic cricketer: Sunil Gavaskar lauds Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravi Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer (Source: Twitter)
The former batter Sunil Gavaskar has praised spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his composed effort with the bat, which saw India secure a clean sweep against Bangladesh on Sunday.
After winning the first Test fixture of the series, India were flying high with their confidence to continue their dominance. The hosts posted 227 on the board in the first innings, while India responded with a total of 314, and a lead of 87 runs.
In the second innings, the Indian bowling unit did well to pick top-order wickets, but the Tigers' middle-order fought well to score 231 and post 145. Afterwards, the Bangladesh spinners Mehidy Hasan and Shakib al Hasan were exceptional to put pressure on the Indian batting line-up.
On the fourth day, India needed 100 runs, with six wickets under their belt. Axar Patel (34) was impressive with his composure, but his dismissal put India in a spot of bother.
However, the Indian team were rest assured by the calm heads of Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer. They helped the visitors to go past difficult phase and help the team to win the match by three wickets. Iyer remained unbeaten on 29, while Ashwin scored 42*. Interestingly, Ashwin scored 16 runs off Mehidy's single over to seal the game for the team.
In this regard, Gavaskar lauded Ashwin for his usefulness with the bat over the years, which is quite under-rated, while also pointing out his five Test hundreds.
"The tension must have been unbelievable out there. But somebody like Ashwin; he has been a fantastic cricketer. People only talk about his bowling but he has got five hundreds and he showed how he got those. Terrific innings from him and a great partnership with Shreyas Iyer,” said Gavaskar.
India's next red-ball assignment would be the four-match home Test series against Australia. It will be critical for them to secure a victory in this series to confirm their spot in the WTC Final.
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