Team India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has applauded the England team for producing a stunning result in the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on a wicket that hadn’t offered anything to the bowlers. However, England won the match and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series as well.
Notably, England played with an ultra-aggressive approach since the beginning and posted 507 runs in just 75 overs on Day 1 before bad light brought an end to the day beforehand. And, while speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said that it was incredible to see England scoring 921 runs at an amazing run rate of 6.7.
Ravichandran Ashwin said: “Michael Atherton has said that they will play like this everywhere. During the Test match, Bazid Khan said that England had nothing to lose from this Test match as they are not in contention for the WTC final to which Atherton replied that McCullum and Ben Stokes has decided that is going to be their approach going forward.”
“In fact, no matter how the pitch is, it looked like they will play this way and take the pitch out of the equation. That what England exactly did. Looking forward to seeing more of Bazball. We will see how Bazball goes and in what approach it goes because in this Test match, England scored 921 runs in 137 overs at 6.7 RPO. Can you believe it?,” he continued.
“They are playing the way that would suit them using the marketability and stuff” – Ravichandran Ashwin
While Ravichandran Ashwin said that England have adopted an approach that suits them, he is still not sure whether it will be applicable in every condition. However, since McCullum’s appointment as a Test coach, England had played only at home but to win in Rawalpindi on such a flat track will definitely praiseworthy.
“They are playing the way that would suit them using the marketability and stuff. But until this Test, they largely played on home soil. But this game was played in Pakistan and to produce thus result here has impressed many people,” Ravichandran Ashwin said. “Many people are saying that this is the way Test cricket should be played. But as far as I am concerned, can they consistently do that in every country they tour? Say South Africa, Australia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”
However, the second Test is slated to take place in Multan from December 9 (Friday) and England will be high on confidence after their win in the first one as well. The final Test will take place in Karachi on December 17 as well.
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