Ravichandran Ashwin played a memorable innings by scoring a quick and crucial century in the first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai on September 19. The veteran bowling all-rounder produced his sixth Test hundred to equal the legendary cricketers MS Dhoni and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi's Test centuries tally.
The 38-year-old Ashwin came to rescue India after they lost their top order early on Day 1 at MA Chidambaram Stadium. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja then pulled off an unbeaten 195 runs for the seventh wicket to boost India to a big total on the opening day.
Ashwin took just 108 balls to reach a 100-run mark as he registered his second Test hundred in Chennai. He equalled Dhoni and Pataudi's Test hundreds tally to prove his batting skills once again. Dhoni registered just six centuries in his 144 Test innings while Ashwin took 144 innings to equal his tally.
Meanwhile, Ashwin and Jadeja remained unbeaten at the end of Day 1's play as India managed to post a challenging total of 339/6 in 80 overs. Ashwin remained unbeaten on 102 runs off 112 balls with the help of 10 fours and two sixes while Jadeja scored 86* off 117 balls.
Hasan Mahmud dominated the opening session at MA Chidambaram Stadium with three early wickets of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Bangladesh were on top as India's middle order struggled to impress.
After the stumps, Ashwin talked about his recent stint in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and how his attacking approach helped him on Chennai's tough wicket.
"Always special to play here. Last time I got a hundred here, you [Ravi Shastri] were the coach, thanks for that," Ashwin said after Day 1's play. "Because I'm coming off a T20 tournament, I've always been giving the ball a waft. But on a surface like this, it's better to go hard like Rishabh does. It's an old-school Chennai surface with bounce and carry.
Ashwin also credited Jadeja for his role at the other end and then highlighted the potential impact by spinners on the next day.
"When there is width, you can give it a tonk. Jadeja was of real help, there was a point where I was sweating and tiring but Jaddu helped me through the phase. He's been solid and one of our best batters. He told me we don't have to convert twos into threes, which helped me (smiles). Overspin will fetch bounce, spinners will come into play later. The new ball will do a bit tomorrow, we'll have to start afresh."
