Turn alone didn’t give me wickets, tempo and guile did: Ashwin on Chepauk pitch

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday asserted that it was not simply the flip that Chepauk pitch supplied yielded him wickets however the “pace and guile” did the trick within the second Test in opposition to England right here.
The high quality of the pitch has been a topic of intense debate with former greats like Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan sparring on social media whereas England assistant coach Graham Thorpe termed it “challenging”.
Ashwin, who was named man-of-the-match for his match figures of 8 for 96 and a superb century in India’s second innings, performed down the speak surrounding the situation of the pitch.
“As much as people were predicting things from the outside, I thought the balls that was doing much wasn’t getting wickets. It was the mind of the batsmen that got us wickets,” Ashwin mentioned.
“I have been playing for years over here now and it takes pace and guile to do it. Keeping intent was very important,” he mentioned after India’s large 317-run win to stage the four-match collection 1-1.

💯 within the second innings8⃣ wickets within the match@ashwinravi99 is the well-deserved Man Of The Match within the 2nd @Paytm #INDvENG Test for his unbelievable all-round efficiency at Chepauk. 👏👏 #GroupIndia pic.twitter.com/5v0FhxfwB1
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 16, 2021
Ashwin mentioned he loved his sport in entrance of the house crowd as he’s “aware” of the house situations.
“Every load up offers a special outcome when it comes to which method the pitch is behaving. I attempt to load up in a different way, use the breeze, use completely different angles to launch the ball, velocity of the run-up. This is working as a result of I’ve created this consciousness for myself.
“This wicket was very different to the one we played on in the first game. This was a red soil wicket, the first one was a clay wicket,” mentioned the 34-year-old who’s simply six wanting 400-wicket milestone.
Talking about his fifth Test ton that got here in India’s second innings, he mentioned, “It is very important to put the pressure on the bowlers beause if you allow them to dictate terms, it is going to get easier.”
“I just wanted to take it upon myself, and after I connected the first ball, I knew I got a hang of this wicket. I am someone who tries hard, and when things don’t go my way, I try harder.”
Ashwin mentioned his batting clicked on the recommendation of batting coach Vikram Rathour and vice captain Ajinkya Rahane.
“Vikram Rathore has been very supportive. My batting was extra about palms, to suppose tactically as an alternative of technically.

DON’T MISS! Local boy Ashwin’s particular message in Tamil for his residence crowd in Chennai #INDvENG #IndiavsEngland pic.twitter.com/0HOJQGVy0k
— Swarnjeet Nath Tiwary (@Swarnjeet_6402) February 16, 2021
“Ajinkya played a crucial role in telling me that I was overthinking it. That innings in Sydney really set the tone for me.”
Axar Patel, who took 5 for 60 in England second innings on his Test debut, mentioned variation in velocity of the deliveries helped him.
“It’s a good experience, to get a five-wicket haul on debut is special,” he mentioned.
“There was a lot occurring on the pitch. It was about various your velocity and I simply saved doing it. Forced the batsman to make errors. On the primary day itself, it was turning. So, we bowled tight traces and bought the rewards.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who took two wickets for 25 runs in England second innings, admitted that he felt strain as he has not performed a variety of Tests within the final two years.

“I used to be discussing rather a lot with Ashwin concerning bowling in proper areas and placing the strain on the batsmen.
“It was important to stay along with the team when it’s playing well. My job was to keep control, contain runs from one end and chip in as one of the three spinners on this track. We have been planning for this series for a long time, right from the Australia series.”
Kuldeep mentioned the group was not frightened after shedding the primary Test because it has confronted such conditions up to now additionally.
“We’re relaxed, we knew we had the team to come back and perform. Everyone was just focused on doing well in this Test.”