Last Updated: February 11, 2023, 14:55 IST
Ravindra Jadeja (left) and R Ashwin took a five-wicket haul each in Nagpur. (AP Photo)
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took a combined 10 wickets between them during the first Test to engineer a massive Indian victory
In a stunning collapse, Australia lost all their 10 wickets in the second innings inside a session to lose the first Test to India by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur on Saturday. The wrecker-in-chief from India was the seasoned Ravichandran Ashwin who picked five wickets in just 12 overs, a haul that included both the Aussie openers and the fragile middle-order trio of Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey.
Ravindra Jadeja took a five-wicket haul that resulted in Australia being limited to 177 in their first dig, The allrounder followed that with a couple of wickets in the second innings as well.
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Ashwin was all praise for his India teammate after the duo spun India to a 1-0 lead in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Massive help is an understatement,” Ashwin told the broadcasters on how is it to bowl alongside someone like Jadeja. “He’s (Jadeja) been in phenomenal form. The way he’s batted, the way he’s bowled and we don’t have to talk about how well he moves in the field. He’s been a fantastic cricketer. I’m so thankful for the fact that I’ve got a partner like him to be bowling alongside me..”
“Axar (Patel) is no ordinary bowler either. We’ve got a very good set of spinners and all of us who can bat,” he added.
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While Australia managed 177 and 91 in their first and second innings respectively, India made 400-all out with Rohit Sharma hitting a century while Axar Patel (84) and Jadeja (70) making significant contributions as well.
Ashwin pointed out how well India batted.
“I’d credit the batting unit, they really dug deep and kept them on the field for a long while. It’s going to be tough for the team coming out and bat. The early wickets really set the tone today,” Ashwin said.
India had made a superb start to their first innings but lost opener KL Rahul late into the day. And out walked Ashwin as the nightwatchman at No. 3 instead of Cheteshwar Pujara.
The 36-year-old said he prefers batting rather than waiting for his chance in the dressing room battling nerves. “I’ve really struggled to cope up with sitting inside and watching the guys bat sometimes, I am too nervous these days. I’ve been asking them for an opportunity to go out and bat early if there’s an opportunity and it presented itself. My friend Pujara just let it go, he said ‘I need a nightwatchman, 20 minutes to go.’ I took the opportunity gladly,” Ashwin said.
On the pitch, Ashwin said it was quite slow and the bowlers needed to lure batters into going for drives. “I thought this wicket was quite slow. You need to get the batsman driving on this. Getting them to drive was a good way for me to lure them into shots and induce the other half of the bat as well. The carry and bounce seemed a little low,” he said.
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