India spin spearhead Ravichandran Ashwin has seemingly taken a dig at Rohit Sharma for his captaincy on day two of the ongoing third Test against England in Rajkot.
The India skipper is facing criticism from several quarters for holding back the spinners, especially Ravichandran Ashwin and letting the English openers score at a good pace in the first 10 overs or so. While Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj did trouble Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett with the new ball, the openers were quick to find their feet.
Duckett hit Bumrah for two fours in the fifth over and did not look back. Kuldeep Yadav was introduced into the attack in the 7th over but it did not make much of a difference. By the time the 10th over came to an end, England had raced away to 67 runs with Duckett scoring 50 of those runs in just 39 balls.
Yay! Powerplay done and Ashwin can be given the ball.
76/0 after 11 overs, forget about making things happen, you have just allowed them to get off to a great start and entire pressure now is on the bowler. Just making it that much harder for yourself.
— Nikhil
(@CricCrazyNIKS) February 16, 2024
Rohit eventually introduced Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack in the 12th over and the senior spinner made an instant impact. In his second over, he dismissed the dangerous Crawley to give India the much-needed first breakthrough.
Ravichandran Ashwin on his late introduction:
Speaking at the post-day press conference, Ravichandran Ashwin made it clear that he was introduced late into the attack, saying that he would have much rather bowled to Duckett when he was new to crease, rather than when he had already reached his half-century.
“I would have really liked to bowl at him when he was at 0 and not at 60-70 runs. He is a very different player to bowl at when he is at 60-70 runs for sure. A couple of slog sweeps that he hit were really special.
But again, Ben Duckett is a phenomenal talent for England, he has made a wonderful hundred today. I wanted to clap for Ben Duckett but I didn’t. The hardcore competitor in me did not allow me to clap, but nevertheless, come the next time, I will again try to take him on,” Ravichandran Ashwin said in the press conference at the end of Day 2.
Duckett went on to score a stunning century and was unbeaten on 133 at the end of the day. England were on 207 for 2 in just 35 overs in reply to India’s first innings total of 445. Meanwhile, India will be without Ashwin for the remainder of the ongoing game as the spinner has withdrawn from the squad due to a family medical emergency.
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