"He has got his lazy elegance" - Dinesh Karthik showers praise on Ravichandran Ashwin
Dinesh Karthik showered praise on Ravichandran Ashwin after his half-century propelled India to 438 in the first innings of the second Test against the West Indies in Trinidad.
Ashwin, who has a knack of chipping with handy contributions, scored 56 runs off 78 deliveries, including eight boundaries to help the team post a total in excess of 400.
Praising Ashwin, Karthik stated the former's bating style proves that he was a batter before. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said:
"There is something about the man, isn't it? We end up talking about him in almost every Test match that he plays. He does something, more often it's with the ball, but there are many occasions that he's done so well with the bat. I remember very vividly when I saw him in Bangalore in one of those U17 games, he was somebody who could keep bowling off-spin and keep things tight in an ODI."
"From thereon, he's become arguably one of the greatest off-spinners," he added. "But the key point that I'm trying to make here is he was a batter before, and you could see it when he plays. He knows how to score runs. He has got his lazy elegance."
Since his debut in 2011, Ashwin has amassed 3129 runs in 91 Tests at an average of 26.97, including five hundreds and 13 half-centuries.
"He has got three triple hundreds in domestic cricket" - Dinesh Karthik on Ravindra Jadeja's batting skills
Speaking in the aforementioned video, Dinesh Karthik also spoke highly of Ravindra Jadeja, who made a handy contribution of 60 runs. He stitched together a 159-run partnership with Virat Kohli to consolidate India's innings after they lost four wickets in quick time.
"We are all used to seeing him do it consistently these days, he makes those handy contributions," Karthik continued. "He has got three triple hundreds in domestic cricket, not many people have done it. You can see why he is so good with the bat."
"The confidence that he has got," he added. "He got his fifty, batted really well, very useful innings. Tough pitch to bat on, and Kemar Roach, let's not forget, is one of the better bowlers in world cricket against left-handers. He bowled really good spells, but he found a way to play through it all before nicking one."
Speaking of the game, the West Indies are currently at 86/1 at stumps on Day 2. The hosts currently trail by 352 runs in the first innings.