Ravichandran Ashwin reveals Virat Kohli's main concern during first Test against Bangladesh

Ace India all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin, was the standout performer as the hosts crushed Bangladesh by a whopping 280 runs in the first Test of the two-match series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

In a recent discussion with former cricketer-turned-commentator, Ashwath Bobo, Ashwin shared how ace batter, Virat Kohli, kept himself and Ashwin wondering regarding the reason behind an underwhelming turnout on the first day of the game. 

"The ground was completely empty on the first day. I was wondering why the ground was so empty on Day 1. Virat kept telling me that no one was coming to watch the Test match. But from that moment, there was a huge crowd. I wanted to ask you why so many people struggled to buy tickets?" asked Ashwin in a YouTube video.

Responding to Ashwin's question, Ashwath responded that quite a lot of people were unsure of whether the match would extend till the fifth day. This prompted a mass majority of supporters to purchase a day ticket rather than a season ticket. Due to there being an excessive quantity of people wanting to acquire the former, Ashwath felt quite a lot of supporters got delayed behind the ground. 

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"Initially, when ticket sales used to happen, they used to call it a season ticket or a day ticket. A season ticket is when you get it punched on Day 1 and you can come back for five days with same ticket. Many people were afraid that the match would not go on till the fourth or fifth day. So, everyone had an ambiguity to buy the season ticket. So, when they come to buy the day ticket, the crowd was huge. The crowd was from the Pavillion to the Pattabiram Gate," replied Ashwath.

There were a lot of problems: Ashwath

Ashwath confirmed Ashwin's question of there being just one counter for granting tickets instead of multiple ones. He also underscored the difference in the crowd between the weekdays and weekend.

"Yes there was just one counter. There were a lot of problems. When I came, there was a huge crowd in that line. But when I came, as you said, the crowd was scattered on Day 1. So, many people struggled to buy the day ticket. But as you said, yesterday was Saturday and the crowd was huge. On Sunday, the crowd was there till the end of the presentation," Ashwath replied.

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It was Ashwin's sublime century in the first innings of the game, his sixth in the format, which set the tone for India. The fourth innings saw him return with figures of 6/88 as he wrapped home a convincing victory for India.