Ravichandran Ashwin played out a memorable innings to help India post a challenging total on Day 1 of the first Test match against Bangladesh in Chennai on September 18. The veteran all-rounder registered his sixth Test hundred by scoring an unbeaten 102 runs at MA Chidambaram Stadium's tricky wicket.
India witnessed an early collapse against Hasan Mahmul's brilliant spell in the first session after being forced to bat first at the traditional spin-friendly surface at Chepauk. Top batters Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill struggled to reach a double-digit score but youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant managed to make some impact.
Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja then batted like it was a flat surface at Chepauk as they took India from 144/6 to 339/6 total at the end of the day's play. Ashwin took just 108 balls to reach a 100-run mark with the help of 10 fours and two sixes.
After the stumps, Ashwin explained TV presenter and his former head coach Ravi Shastri how he encountered Chennai's tricky wicket. Ashwin said he adopted aggressive shots and hit hard like Rishabh to allow himself score quick runs.
"It's an old Chennai surface with a bit of bounce and carry," Ravichandran Ashwin said after the stumps at Chepauk. "The red soil pitch allows you to play a few shots if you are willing to just get in line and give it a bit of a tonk when there's width.
"Of course, I have always been wafting my bat around outside off-stump. Worked on a few things and on a surface like this with a bit of spice, if you're going after the ball, might as well go after it really hard like Rishabh does."
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja also contributed equally by scoring 86* off 117 balls. Ashwin and Jadeja pulled off an unbeaten 195-run stand for the seventh wicket to set a new partnership record in Tests for India. Aswhin revealed Jadeja's advice to avoid getting tired with singles and doubles and termed him as India's best red-ball batsman in recent years.
"He (Jadeja) was of real help. There was a point in time where I was sweating and getting a bit tired. Jaddu noticed it quickly and guided me through that phase. Jaddu has been one of our best batters for the team in the last few years. His presence was solid, and his advice that we didn’t have to convert twos into threes was really helpful for me," Ashwin added further.
