Skip to main content

Speed variation rather than spin was key: Ashwin

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who bagged his 18th five-wicket haul of his career, has pointed out that a combination of bounce and speed variations played a key role in ripping apart West Indies batting line-up instead of spin on a damp Sabina Park pitch in the second Test.

India's ascendancy over the West Indies continued as they bundled out Jason Holder's team for 196 before making 126 for 1 in their first innings at stumps on day one on Saturday.

"A little bit of bounce and speed variation, that was important, I thought. Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight. This ball, once it gets older, it becomes easier to bat. There's a lot more time. I think it was more about bounce and speed variation that created the problem," Ashwin told reporters after day one.

The 29-year-old premier spinner expressed that he was satisfied with his own performance, while pointing out that his hunger for five-wicket haul drives him on.

"I am pleased to have achieved it (five-wicket haul) again. Whenever I start a series or a tournament my initial intention is to get a five-wicket haul. Once I get the momentum I try to capitalise on it and look to hit that five-wicket mark. It is sort of a psychological thing. It is a hunger for me," he added.

Despite ending the day's play on top, Ashwin cautioned his side against getting too carried away and said that they need to be consistent with their performance throughout the match to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

"I was really taken aback by the counterattack that [Jermaine] Blackwood did," he said. "It sort of put the game in the balance. And we had to break [through] twice and brought the game back. It's clearly a game where the experienced side is seizing the more opportune moments. I would put it that way. With a little bit of experience and nailing the right moments, the game could get closer.

"This game has a lot of uncertainties. We just saw one when Sri Lanka pulled it off against Australia [in the Pallekele Test]. And they did the same against us in Galle [in 2015], so we can't be lacklustre with that, we will have to keep doing our process properly." 



via Sify.com http://ift.tt/2aTociM

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

RB Leipzig's Jean-Kevin Augustin joins Leeds United on loan

Leeds [UK], Jan 27 (ANI): German football club RB Leipzig's Jean-Kevin Augustin on Monday joined Leeds United on a loan. The striker joins the Whites on an initial loan deal until the end of the season from Bundesliga outfit Red Bull Leipzig, the club said in a statement. Augustin joined the RB Leipzig in July, 2017 for a fee of 13 million Euros. The 22-year-old featured in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League during his time with the German club, who finished sixth and third in his two seasons, where he scored 20 goals in 67 matches. French national helped his country win the European Under-19 Championship in 2016, where he scored the most number of goals and was adjudged as player of the tournament. Augustin is Leeds' third signing of the January transfer window following the joining of Elia Caprile and Ian Poveda. (ANI) via Sify.com https://ift.tt/2OiruB9

Chelsea are a young team, need to improve a lot: Kovacic

London: Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic said they are a young team and need to improve a lot. Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday in FA Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored the opening goal of the match in the sixth minute and Chelsea's second goal was scored in the 64th minute. "It was a tough game, as we knew that it would be, but we need to score in the first half two more goals. That's our problem in this moment but obviously we're happy to go through," the club's official website quoted Kovacic as saying. "It was because we didn't score on time - we had some chances and we didn't use them. In training, we are working on it but we are still a young team, a new team, and we need to improve a lot. We need to take our chances, which in this moment we are not doing great, but we have time to improve and I am sure we will do," he added. Chelsea are currently placed at the fourth position in the Premier League table with 40 points...

Chelsea are a young team, need to improve a lot: Kovacic

London [UK], Jan 27 (ANI): Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic said they are a young team and need to improve a lot. Chelsea secured a 2-1 win over Hull City on Saturday in FA Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored the opening goal of the match in the sixth minute and Chelsea's second goal was scored in the 64th minute. "It was a tough game, as we knew that it would be, but we need to score in the first half two more goals. That's our problem in this moment but obviously we're happy to go through," the club's official website quoted Kovacic as saying. "It was because we didn't score on time - we had some chances and we didn't use them. In training, we are working on it but we are still a young team, a new team, and we need to improve a lot. We need to take our chances, which in this moment we are not doing great, but we have time to improve and I am sure we will do," he added. Chelsea are currently placed at the fourth position in the Premier League table ...