Always wanted to be a top-order batsman: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin slammed only his fourth century in Test cricket, his third against the West Indies and more importantly, his first ton overseas as the Indians wrested control over proceedings. Although some eyebrows were raised when Ashwin joined skipper Virat Kohli on Day 1 after the all of the fourth wickets, it was clear that there was an added responsibility on the 29-year old. However, Ashwin proved his critics wrong by smashing a well-deserved 113 as the Indians went on to amass a mammoth 588 runs in their first innings before declaring close to the end of the day.

Whilst speaking about his performance with the bat shortly at the end of Day 2, Ashwin admitted that batting in the top order was always a goal for him. “I’ve always wanted to bat in the top seven for the Indian team,” admitted Ashwin after Day two of the first Test in Antigua on Friday (July 22). “(It) is a long-time goal that I have to try to strive to get better at. I need to thank Anil bhai and Virat [Kohli] for having the confidence in me to be pushed at No.6. There have been times in the past when I’ve played really well and haven’t really got the promotion.”

“I’ve never left so many balls. Ajinkya told before the Test match about batting 200 balls, my aim was to bat 150 balls and try and see where I get. In between, I played an over from Gabriel which was a bit loose, and Virat came up to me and said, ‘that is what you need to avoid in Test cricket to be more successful’. I really thought I left really well and knew where my off-stump was,” Ashwin added.

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“Sanjay Bangar worked really closely with my stance for the last 12 months. It has been a challenge. (But) that change is very effective,” he said.