Who said what - top 5 expert reactions on Ravichandran Ashwin's hundred in 1st IND vs BAN 2024 Test ft. Dinesh Karthik
The cricket fraternity lavished praise on veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored a century in the ongoing India vs Bangladesh Test in Chennai. With this knock, Ashwin now has as many hundreds (6) as MS Dhoni in the longest format.
The Indian team batted first and lost their key top-order batters in quick succession. Although Yashasvi Jaiswal (56) and Rishabh Pant (39) did well to put the team in good stead, things were looking gloomy at 144/6.
Nevertheless, the duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja joined forces to form a potent partnership with their positive approach. They stitched a 199-run stand and helped India to post 376 on the board. Ashwin slammed 113 off 133, while Jadeja garnered 86 off 124 balls.
In response, Bangladesh were bundled out for 149, with Jasprit Bumrah emerging as the pick of the bowlers with four scalps. At stumps on Day 2, India were 81/3 and leading by 308 runs.
On that note, let's take a look at the expert reaction to Ravichandran Ashwin's hundred.
#1 Dinesh Karthik
In an interaction with Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik hailed Ravichandran Ashwin as a "cricket scientist". As per Karthik, Ashwin is a genius and looks to contribute in both departments. He also thinks the 38-year-old is one of India's finest cricketers to grace the field. Karthik said:
"He is genuinely a cricket scientist, Harsha. He thinks about the game so much, so engrossed and involved in the process. Also, there are not many things in the world that gives him as much happiness as doing something with the ball or bat."
"The man is an absolute genius. Coming from the same state as him, I feel proud to say he is Tamil Nadu's greatest cricketers and arguably one of India's greatest cricketers as well," he added.
#2 Michael Vaughan
Former England skipper took to X to praise the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for their terrific partnership under pressure. As per Vaughan, there have been countless instances of the veteran all-rounders helping India out of a hole with their contribution with the willow.
Here's what Vaughan posted:
#3 Ahmad Shahzad
Former Pakistan batter Ahmad Shahzad commended the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for using their experience to perform in clutch situations. Shahzad praised the skill levels of both players and thought they were intelligent to use the old ball in their favor. He said:
"Both Ashwin and Jadeja have the hunger to perform, have discipline in their game and they want to contribute for their country. Today, as well when India were in trouble, the duo put on a 195-run stand. Their strike rates were outstanding as well. They increased the run-scoring when the ball got older and with the bowlers getting tired."
#4 Zaheer Khan
In an interaction on Cricbuzz, former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan praised the duo of Jadeja and Ashwin for using their knowledge of conditions in Chepauk well and helping Team India get out of trouble.
Zaheer lauded Ashwin for his positive approach and being proactive in maintaining the team's tempo, and thereby steering the team to a strong score. Here's what he said:
"The takeaway of Ashwin's innings was his positive approach. He was not afraid to play his shots. Ashwin set the tone in the partnership, whenever he got the width to play the shot, he used it well. Despite the fielders stationed at the boundary fences, he did not play any rash shots and judged the game well."
#5 Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar was happy to witness Ravichandran's Ashwin's innings. He thinks the latter is one of the few flag-bearers in the current generation in terms of backfoot play.
The 59-year-old also praised Ashwin's strong technique, which puts bowlers off. In a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, he said:
"I see the bowlers being shell-shocked, because they are playing so well; good length, right areas, outside the off-stump. Then, Ashwin comes and they do the same thing but the ball gets punished for a four, not one but three, four, five times, which puts them off."