In a post-match interview after India’s win in the first Test, the Player of the Match, Ravi Ashwin revealed how he has grown to admire co-cricketer Jadeja, over the course of recent years.
Ashwin was asked if he ever saw a rival in longtime teammate Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin, being the most sensible head in Indian cricket, answered quirky to the question as he said that if you have competitive cricketers in the same team, you are in a phase of healthy competition, like brothers growing in arms.
“Sometimes, when you’re in the race along with your co-cricketers, you want to get ahead of one another, even inside a team. It’s like brothers growing in arms, right? And then you slowly start admiring one another.” Ashwin said.
However, Ash anna, as Ashwin is often referred to by his admirers, stated that, he can never beat Jadeja and only admires the competent cricketer for his talent. Through his words, India’s second-highest Test wicket-taker only sparked shades of humility.
“Now, that admiration has gone one step higher, knowing that I can never beat Jadeja. So, I’m comfortable in my skin, but totally inspired by what he’s done,” he further added.
He revealed, “Jadeja on the field is a fire. He’s a rocket on the field. So, all in all, I envy him. I’m jealous of him but totally admire him. I’ve learned to admire him for the last 4-5 years, even more than I have in the past.”
Both these two spin-bowling all-rounders captivated all as they played a pivotal role in India’s victory at Chepauk. The first inning saw the two batters rescue India from a drowning state as they put on a 199-run partnership for the 7th wicket.
Ashwin, the local boy from Chennai, got his sixth Test hundred while Jadeja, for whom, Chepauk seems to be a known track as well, excelled with his 86-run knock.
The two stars also ran a show with the ball for India as they went on to pick 11 wickets between them, with the two maestros sharing 9 wickets in the second innings itself.
Ashwin and Jadeja set records with heroics in the first Test at Chennai
Ravi Ashwin first nailed a hundred in the first inning, as he emerged as India’s highest run-scorer, scoring stunning 113 runs. Jadeja, on the other hand, was the second-highest scorer with his 86-run knock.
In the bowling deck, Jadeja first picked 2 astonishing wickets that were vital in breaking the backbone of the Bangladesh innings.
After India’s gigantic target of 515 that they posed to Bangladesh, the spinners struck at all vital moments of the game, as they shared 9 wickets between them, from the top-order batters to the end of the tail.
Ashwin, with his six wickets in the final innings, went past the great Courtney Walsh, who had 519 Test wickets, as the Indian great is now the world’s 8th highest wicket-taker in Tests with 522 wickets to his name.
Also, Jadeja, with his overall 5 wickets, inched closer to a world record of entering the elite list of Test players with 3000+ Test runs alongside 300 red ball wickets. Jadeja is now just one wicket away from this sensational feat, which he might target in the upcoming match in Kanpur.
