Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the Indian players did not provide enough rough areas for left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the just finished Test series opener against England at Headingley, Leeds. He remembered watching English speedster Jamie Overton make rough patches on the field by donning shoes with fifteen spikes while playing county cricket.
According to the renowned off-spinner, Indian cricket players don’t wear these kinds of shoes. It is important to note that the spin bowlers greatly benefit from the creation of rough spots on the pitch.
In a video that was uploaded to his “Ashwin” YouTube account, the 38-year-old stated:
“During my county cricket days, I remember checking out the spikes in Jamie Overton’s shoes. One of his shoes had 15 spikes. One of the nails was this long (shows his index fingers), and when asked the reason, he said that these shoes were used to create the rough in the second innings. We don’t even have the concept of such shoes in our country.”
In the fourth innings, Jadeja bowled 34-104-1. The magnificent 149-run innings of Ben Duckett in pursuit of the record chasing score of 371 against England helped their team to take the overall lowly second chasing score and win their second test match in their entire history in this game.
“He played like a Rolls-Royce” – Ravichandran Ashwin showers praise on KL Rahul after 1st Test vs England
India was given the opportunity to bat first, and opener KL Rahul had a strong start to the first innings. But after a solid 42, he left without turning it into a significant score.
In the essay that followed, he atoned by scoring his tenth Test century. With 247 deliveries, the right-handed batter scored 137 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin held the elder player in the highest regard.
In the same video, Ashwin stated that Rahul played like a Rolls-Royce:
“Truly a high-quality performer and a high-quality batsman. Whenever he goes overseas, he gets those big scores in the first Test, and in England, even in the last series, he played like a million dollars. He played like a Rolls-Royce!”
Ravichandran Ashwin
KL Rahul, like former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid, has occasionally adapted to other roles, he emphasized. The comment by Ashwin:
“If a Bengaluru-based cricketer named Rahul plays for India, adaptability is automatically their middle name.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
In the five-game series, England has established a 1-0 lead. Edgbaston, Birmingham, will host the second Test match from July 2–6.
