R Ashwin, who played a key role with the bat in India’s win against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Sunday (December 25), stated that he would not have gone down without a fight. His knock included an unbeaten 42 in an unbeaten 71-run eighth-wicket stand with Shreyas Iyer that raised comparisons with the other batters in the team as well.
“Oh no,” he added, refusing to be compared with the other batters. “It was just my day,” he told Cricbuzz.
Meanwhile, captain KL Rahul has also said that the Indian dressing room was tense as the batters were struggling on a difficult pitch and trying to defend Bangladesh bowlers while chasing a tricky 145-run target. But Ashwin shared that he was unaware of the tensions and he also believed in things that are in his control.
R Ashwin added, “I went and sat outside (of the dressing room), so I had no idea (what was happening inside). I am a nervous watcher of others’ batting but once I have the ball or bat I always believe I can control things.”
“Loved the way Shreyas batted” – R Ashwin on Shreyas Iyer
However, after the match, R Ashwin applauded Shreyas Iyer for handling the situation well.
“It was one of those games where we let the game drift whenever we could have shut it off. Shreyas batted beautifully. Sometimes in these situations you feel like you have to get ahead of things, they bowled good lines and I felt that we didn’t trust our defences enough. Loved the way Shreyas batted,” he told the host broadcaster as well.
Meanwhile, R Ashwin, helped India come out of tough situations with the bat twice in recent times, which also included against Pakistan at the MCG in the Twenty World Cup where he kept his cool in a pressure-like situation and ensured India beat their arch-rivals in a last-ball finish as well.
“I don’t like to go down without a fight. I have always put myself in tough situations from the age of 8. So I try and fight every single day and I don’t like to lose like every member of my team. These are the two occasions where I came out on the right side,” R Ashwin concluded, adding, “So glad.”
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