"Pakistan went into back foot when India attacked Shaheen Shah Afridi" - Ravichandran Ashwin on Super 4 tie of Asia Cup 2023
Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill's attacking approach against Shaheen Afridi put Pakistan under pressure when these two sides met in a Super Four tie of Asia Cup 2023.
Ashwin emphasized that it was a calculated move from India, as they had enough depth in their batting lineup. The veteran off-spinner reckoned that the Men in Blue had enough firepower left even if the side lost wickets while trying to attack.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin explained:
"Both Rohit (Sharma) and (Shubman) Gill reminded me of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana's partnership during the 1996 World Cup. It’s all about who goes back foot first during a game. Pakistan went into the backfoot when India attacked Shaheen Shah Afridi early on."
"See, you can lose a couple of wickets. But India knew they had the batting strength. So, they knew even if they had lost the openers, they could have put a partnership with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul and made a comeback," he added.
Shaheen Afridi rattled India's top-order with his new ball burst when these two teams met in the group stage. However, Sharma and Gill turned things around in the Super Four, accumulating 31 runs off the left-arm speedster's first three overs.
Shaheen looked off-colour in the encounter, conceding 79 runs from his 10 overs and finishing with a solitary scalp.
"Giving us that stability with the bat in the middle-order" - Ravichandran Ashwin on KL Rahul
Team India's wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul showed no signs of rustiness in his comeback match, delivering a brilliant unbeaten 111-run knock. He returned to the side following a long injury layoff.
Ravichandran Ashwin suggested that Rahul's addition has strengthened the team's middle order. The crafty spinner pointed out how Rahul also chipped in with a valuable 39-run knock in the Super Four clash against Sri Lanka
"KL Rahul is giving us that stability with the bat in the middle-order," Ashwin said. "That’s why batting in the middle-order is really difficult. MS Dhoni nailed that art. However, I am not at all comparing KL Rahul with MS Dhoni. Plus, he did a different role of batting at number 6/7 compared to KL Rahul."
"But I feel he is slowly mastering his role perfectly. He put a partnership with Ishan Kishan initially against Sri Lanka too. When Dunith Wellalage was in a great rhythm, KL Rahul left it alone for two deliveries. That was a very good sign. It showed us that he had a good game plan," he added.
Rohit Sharma and company have already qualified for the Asia Cup 2023 final. They have one more match to go before the summit clash against Bangladesh in Colombo on Friday.