“Enjoyed Myself ..” : R. Ashwin After Brilliant Knock Against Bangladesh

In the first Test match against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, Ravichandran Ashwin showcased a masterclass with the bat, smashing his sixth long-format hundred, finishing unbeaten on 102 from 112 balls.

His aggressive knock, featuring 10 fours and 2 sixes at a strike rate of 91.07, was a key contribution as India recovered from a top-order collapse.

Ashwin credited Rishabh Pant’s attacking mindset as inspiration for his approach. He mentioned how adopting an aggressive style, much like Pant, can be beneficial on tricky surfaces like the Chennai pitch, which he described as having an “old-school” bounce and carry.

Ashwin also acknowledged Ravindra Jadeja’s support, especially during a challenging phase when he was tiring, praising Jadeja for his solid presence and game awareness, which helped him through the tough patches. Jadeja was unbeaten on 86 at stumps, forming an unbroken 195-run partnership with Ashwin to take India to a strong position at 339/6.

India had initially struggled after Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl, reducing India to 144/6.

Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud was their top performer with figures of 4/58, dismantling the Indian top order, including dismissing captain Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli cheaply. Yashasvi Jaiswal (56) and Rishabh Pant (39) briefly steadied the innings, but it was the Ashwin-Jadeja stand that turned the tide in India’s favor by the end of day one.

Bangladesh’s playing XI included skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and key players like Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, while India fielded a strong line-up with Rohit Sharma as captain and Jasprit Bumrah leading the pace attack.