“Ashwin often reminds me of VVS Laxman” - Aakash Chopra

It was a batting masterclass from Ravichandran Ashwin to spearhead India’s batting attack on day one. After India was reduced to 144/6, it was the mind-blowing partnership between Ashwin and Jadeja that helped India get back on track and eventually drive into a comfortable position. Ashwin showed grit and resolve in dealing with Bangladesh’s fiery pace attack and the quality in his shots was impeccable.

In an analysis on Jio Cinema, Aakash Chopra explained why the innings from Ashwin was a knock of the highest order. Shedding light on his strokeplay and how he adapted to the situation, Chopra drew an uncanny similarity between Ashwin and one of India’s greatest Test batters, VVS Laxman.

Chopra said, “Ashwin lets the ball travel to him, he has only the shots at his disposal when it comes to the back-foot. When it comes to his legs, he often reminds me of VVS Laxman. But today his driving skills, especially bending his knee and hitting a six against spinners... Jadeja was outstanding, but Ashwin deserves a bit more of credit for today.”

He further added, “We were really habituated to see him score with the bat, then over some time we saw a bit of a decline in his batting form. He was also demoted in the batting order. He is a very organised player. His ability to absorb pressure, it is there in the foundation of how he plays. The rest of the players have still played in competitive cricket like the T20 World Cup in the build up to this, but he had only last played in the England Tests.”