India's Ravichandran Ashwin was the star of the 2nd Test against England in Chennai, as the 34-year-old produced a brilliant all-round performance to steer the home side to a 317-run win.
Ashwin took a five-wicket haul; his 29th in Test career, and followed it with a 5th Test century in the second innings of the game. He further took three more wickets in England's run-chase, as the side was bowled out on 164.
The off-spinner was named the Man of the Match and after the game, he talked to Indian captain Virat Kohli in a segment for the BCCI. Ashwin revealed that he feels "blank."
"For the first time in my career, I feel blank. When I went out to bat, I was blank. In fact, I had to ask you if I could start sweeping, so that's exactly how I feel; zero feelings or emotions inside. Very rarely do I find myself in such situations, you know me very well, my mind is always ticking," Ashwin told Kohli.
"Out there, especially after being 1-0 down, what I did was something incredible. That partnership between us really set the tone for us."
Virat Kohli pointed out in the conversation that Ashwin had been stepping up consistently for India, referencing the off-spinner's brilliant performances in the recently-concluded away tour to Australia. The Indian captain asked Ashwin about the factors which led to a change in his body-language.
"Throughout this whole pandemic, I was thinking 'what is going to happen!'. Because if you take the game away from me, I am literally lost. Even if I'm not playing the game for the country, I'm putting the TV on, watching the preview. But suddenly, I realised that the game was not here anymore, so I reflected upon myself, trying to understand how you can learn from people," Ashwin said.
"That perception made me realise that I was playing a game that was completely different to who I was. In the past, there was a desperation about trying to prove others wrong. But this time, when I went out there, it was more about trying to prove myself on what I'm capable of," Ashwin told the Indian captain.
The off-spinner further cited an example from Kohli's performances on his return to England during the 2018 tour. The Indian captain had a poor outing in the 2014 tour of England, and there remained significant pressure on him to perform. Kohli eventually ended the five-match Test series as the highest run-scorer.
"One thing I've noticed from a distance when I see people who do well through the years is how balanced they are, in terms of not wanting to be desperate. Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane), yourself.. when you came back to England, you wanted to do well, but within yourself, within your space, which is something I wanted to impress," Ashwin said.
