‘Thankful that I’ve got a partner…’: Ashwin praises this person after memorable win against Australia in 1st Test

India registered a comprehensive innings and 132 runs over Australia in the first Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Saturday (February 11) at Nagpur. Star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the architects of this memorable win as he claimed five wickets, including both the Aussie openers and Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey.

Ravindra Jadeja also claimed five wickets in the first innings to restrict Australia to just 177 runs.  The all-rounder grabbed two wickets in the second innings too.

Ashwin praised Jadeja for his performance with the ball and said, “Massive help is an understatement. 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.

Australia scored 177 and 91 in their first and second innings respectively, while India hit 400 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in its first innings. For India, skipper Rohit Sharma hit a superb century, while Axar Patel (84) and Jadeja (70) also performed well with the bat.

Talking about India’s good show with the bat, Ashwin said, “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.”