"That puts them off" - Sanjay Manjrekar explains why Bangladesh bowlers struggled against Ravichandran Ashwin on Day 1 of 1st IND vs BAN 2024 Test
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar opined that Ravichandran Ashwin's ability to play the ball late and hit good deliveries for boundaries made life difficult for Bangladesh's bowlers on Day 1 of the Chennai Test on Thursday, September 19. Manjrekar said Ashwin did not allow the bowlers to settle in, upsetting the opposition's rhythm.
Sent into bat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, India ended Day 1 on 339-6, with local boy Ashwin unbeaten on 102 and fellow all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on 86. The duo added an unbroken 195 for the seventh wicket by stumps to help the hosts recover from 144-6.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar commented that Ashwin's gift as a batter came to the fore yet again on Day 1 of the Chennai Test. Hailing the 38-year-old's knock, he said:
"The most important thing is Ashwin's gift as a batter. I see the bowlers being shell shocked because they are bowling so well - good lengths, right areas. Then, Ashwin comes in and they do the same thing and that ball gets punished for four. Not once, but three, four, five times. That puts them off."
"He's got such beautiful hands, plays the ball late. One of the very few flag-bearers of this generation, who plays a lot on the back foot and plays the ball late. All those things combined got us to witness a wonderful innings," Manjrekar added.
While Ashwin notched up his sixth Test ton on Day 1 of the contest against Bangladesh, Jadeja played another crucial hand with the willow. At stumps, he was 14 short of a fifth Test ton. Sharing his thoughts on Jadeja's rise as a Test batter, Manjrekar added:
"He's been amazingly consistent with the bat over the last few years. Not just in India, he got a hundred in England as well. When you see him bat now, it seems like he has actually mastered his own approach to batting. He is happy to grind without even looking like he is grinding. This is a batter who has worked out his approach. He knows his batting well."
Ashwin and Jadeja hit 10 fours and two sixes each. The two combined to smash Bangladesh bowlers for 163 runs in the last session of play at Chepauk.
Ashwin and Jadeja's exceptional Test stats
While both the all-rounders are known more for their bowling exploits, the duo have made some rather significant contributions with the willow in Tests.
If we combine their stats, they have claimed a whopping 810 wickets in 172 Tests, including 49 five-fers and 10 ten-wicket match hauls. With the bat, they have scored over 6,500 runs, with 10 Test hundreds between them.