I enjoy my five-wicket hauls more than my hundreds: Ravichandran Ashwin

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a dream series as he was named as the ‘Player of the series’, for bagging 17 wickets and scoring 2 centuries. India went on to clinch the 4-match series 2-0, after the second Test being drawn and the last Test match ended in a frustrating draw as it was washed off due to rain and wet outfield. “Personally, I would say that I expected this kind of series,” said Ashwin. “Not necessarily one where I expected two hundredS, but I knew batting contributions would be very important. I had no idea that I would be batting at number six before I got here. But I put in the hard work without any expectations back home for a month and a half. And it really paid off.” He said that coming into the series under a lot of expectation, had really helped him achieving the success. “Expectations are something that helps you reach greater heights. Going forward I think being Indian cricketers, expectations are something that you always expect and I hope I can live up to the expectations and keep winning games for the country,” he said. On a lighter note, “I need to give West Indies a bit of credit. They get the top order quickly and allow me the time and opportunity. Most of the other teams give hundreds to the top order. It’s a psychological thing I reckon,” he said, with a smile. Also Read – MS Dhoni biopic in Marati version faces opposition from MNS film wing The world ranking No.1 all-rounder said that he enjoys bagging five-wicket hauls, more than scoring hundreds. “In this Test, I was trying to get a good bowl in this match because personally, I enjoy my five-wicket hauls more than my hundreds. I am not just saying for the sake of it. I really do mean it.” The century which he would relish: Speaking about the century which he would really relish, he said that it is the one at Kolkata and the one at St.Lucia in this West Indies tour. “The one hundred I would really relish and put it past a five-wicket haul is the one I got in Kolkata and probably the one in St.Lucia. It is about the context of the game rather about getting runs or taking wickets,” he said. Talking about missing the fastest bowler to reach 200 Test wickets milestone, Ashwin said, “To be honest I wasn’t close to it, just on the cusp of it. So I cannot really say how I would have felt about it. But now that’s gone and is under the carpet. Even if I didn’t achieve it, I tried and went in the pursuit of excellence. So maybe not 200, let me go for the quickest 300,” he quipped. Also Read – Watch: Ravichandran Ashwin turns out to be the reporter Change in combination for 4th Test: Speaking about the changes in the team line-up as India had gone with 7 batsmen in the 4th Test, which was a change from the combination for the first 3 matches where India had gone with 5 bowlers. “There was clear communication that they wanted to play seven batsmen in terms of trying to see how the combination would go,” he said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a game. If we had got a game we would have known how we would have worked it out. But the combination doesn’t really matter. As I said the context of the game and how much impact I can make on the game is what I keep looking for,” he concluded.

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I enjoy my five-wicket hauls more than my hundreds: Ravichandran Ashwin

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