Sure that Root will thrust his pads forward in next innings: R Ashwin

Indian spin wizard R Ashwin has started off the mind games with the English team. Ashwin was phenomenal on the day 2 of the 2nd Test. He got rid of Joe Root, arguably the best batsman of the opposition. After the match, he spoke at length about how he knew that Root will play a rash shot to get out. He even discussed how he is planning to counterattack the opposition batter in the days to come.

Root had compiled a good fifty before trying to hit Ashwin over long off. He was caught by Umesh Yadav in the deep. R Ashwin mentioned that Root has a long way to go. Only time will teach him how to deal with such tricky wickets. “It’s his first tour and he’s going to learn a lot more as he plays along. I’m very sure he’s going to thrust his pad forward the next innings. Just looking forward to try and play on his confusion in the second innings,” mentioned Ashwin.

He further added that he was not surprised by the way Root was dismissed. Ashwin elaborated the same saying the plan was there already. No wonder why India had kept a mid on. It was only for a shot like that. The wicket at Vizag is a lot different than the one at Rajkot, he mentioned.

“No, not at all. He jabbed at one, one went through the gate. It’s a very, very different pitch to what we saw in Rajkot. It’s not one of those easy-paced wickets, and he nicked one, almost, to short-leg. So we were expecting a shot, and that’s why we put the mid-on in. Obviously, his wicket was massive,” quoted the Indian spinner.

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A few people also drew comparisons between Ashwin’s batting and that of VVS Laxman. A modest Ashwin said that he hopes that there is no further comparison. He added that he takes his batting seriously and is working on the technical aspects of his batting.

“I just hope the comparison ends there! I am quite enjoying my batting, tried staying a little positive. Obviously with runs behind my back wherever I have gone, I have contributed heavily in the last four-five months. And generally, there are attacks where you feel confident out there and batting. Ever since England toured here last time, I have been batting well against them, so that’s a psychological advantage you carry into a game when I play against them. Obviously, I worked on a few things which I indicated in the West Indies, I opened up my stance a little bit. It is working out really well and I am enjoying my batting,” quoted R Ashwin.

Speaking about the high expectations people have from him, Ashwin remarked that he thrives on it. He loves it when he is under pressure and sets benchmarks for himself. “I pride myself on having high benchmarks. I am always compared against what I have performed in the past. Like I have always mentioned, I compete with myself. So actually people comparing my performance to my own is good.

Lastly, he concluded by saying that the ball came out of his hand nicely in the match. He enjoyed bowling his spell. Predicting the nature of surface, he believes that it will only get worse for the batsmen. “Today, I felt the ball coming out really well and I was able to get the ball to hang in the air and also drift on to the batsmen, and kind of straighten it from stump lines. I kind of enjoyed it. I think the wicket can deteriorate over a period of time, it’s only going to get tougher to bat on,” he concluded.