Veteran India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin came to bat in the second session of Day 1 of the ongoing first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Put into bat first, Team India faced trouble with a few quick dismissals, courtesy of a stunning bowling show of the visitors. Their lines and lengths troubled Indian batters, especially Hasan Mahmud, who provided the early breakthroughs.
India lost Rohit Sharma (6), Virat Kohli (6) and Shubman Gill very cheaply. After that, Yashasvi Jaiswal (56) and Rishabh Pant (39) steadied the ship and ensured that they didn't lose any more wickets in the first session of Day 1 as well. However in the second session, both the set batters failed to keep the momentum along with KL Rahul (16). And, their dismissals caused Ravichandran Ashwin to walk out in the middle. The off-spinner came out to bat in the 43rd over on home ground as well.
Gautam Gambhir impressed with R Ashwin's shot
However, Ravichandran Ashwin has played a positive brand of cricket so far. He has also played quite a few shots in his short innings so far, hitting a few boundaries and scoring quickly as well. Notably, he hit the cut shot that he played against Nahid Rana which also impressed the head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was in the dugout. It happened on the last ball of the 44th over when the speedster bowled a 144.2kph as well.
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Here's the video:
Perfection guaranteed when Ashwin is at the crease 👌#INDvBAN #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/uERPJBXpyI
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) September 19, 2024
You can't call them an underdog anymore - R Ashwin on Bangladesh
However, ahead of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin opined about the challenge against Bangladesh, sharing that the opposition has done well and they cannot be taken as underdogs. He also showed his delight to face the team as well.
He stated: "Certainly, they (Bangladesh) have put their hand up and said, 'Look, we are a team on the rise, and we are playing wonderful cricket.' I watched some of those clips (vs Pakistan); it wasn't live in India, but it truly an exceptional result for the Bangladeshi cricket team."
"I am one of those guys who loves to see the underdog come out and perform. You can't call them an underdog anymore, they have played some wonderful cricket. They challenged us in Bangladesh when we were there the last time. Really looking forward to a good series." He concluded.
