Image Credit- AP
R Ashwin came roaring back in England’s second innings
in Ranchi, taking five wickets to see the visitors bowled out for 145, after
returning just one wicket in the first innings. Ashwin, who was given the new
ball for the first time in this series, took the wickets of Ben Duckett, Ollie
Pope, and Joe Root, severely damaging England’s top order before returning to
tidy up the tail.
With the pitch not providing as much bounce, Ashwin claimed he had to
“mental switch” in his technique on the Ranchi surface, concentrating
more on getting the ball to spin.
“So actually I had to go back and rewire the way
I had to think about the game,” Ashwin told the host broadcaster after the
third day. “I am someone who comes over the top, comes down on the ball. I
like the ball to drop on the pitch.
“Somehow when I come to the eastern part of the country, I find that there
is not enough bite out of the surface. The bounce is literally almost near the
shin height, if I can say that.
“So I had to really go a lot of side spin. I had to hammer into the pitch
for the first part of the spell,” Ashwin said. “And later from the
other side, I felt like there was a little bit more purchase. I had to
literally rewire and it was a mental switch I had to make.”
Ashwin did not use his trademark carrom ball for long
periods, but eventually foxed Ben Foakes when he did bring it out, as the
England keeper offered Ashwin a return catch off a leading edge.
“For some strange reason, my knee has been acting up. So it just takes me
10-12 balls to warm up. But I had a bit of warm up before getting in as well.
So once I got my length right, that is when I wanted to really try it,”
Ashwin said. “I didn’t want to give extra runs because they are chasing
last. So every single run to chase is a big bonus.”
For just the second time in this series, Ashwin was
able to bowl with the new ball and returned Duckett, Pope, and Root in his
opening spell. He claimed that he was eager to offer to bowl the opening over
when skipper Rohit Sharma announced that he and Ravindra Jadeja would split the
new ball.
“I’ve enjoyed bowling with the new ball and today was one of those days
where Rohit just said that both of you are starting, who wants to start? I put
my hand up and said I’ll start the over from this side.
“Glad and yeah, the new ball has got some sort of an attachment. I enjoyed
bowling with a little bit more speed. Loved it once again.”