India- Bangladesh Series
Ashwin: It's an old-school Chennai surface
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Ravichandran Ashwin delivered a brilliant counterattacking century, putting India in a strong position at the end of day one of the Chennai Test. This marks Ashwin’s sixth Test hundred, his first in three years, coincidentally at the same venue where he last achieved the milestone.
After opting to bowl first, Bangladesh had India on the back foot early, with Hasan Mahmud dismantling the top order by dismissing Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli. Mahmud also claimed Rishabh Pant for his fourth wicket, leaving India struggling at 144/6.
The responsibility then fell to all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin, who mounted a spectacular recovery.
Ranked No.1 and No.2 in the ICC Men's Test all-rounder rankings, the pair formed an unbroken 195-run partnership, guiding India to 339/6 at stumps. Ashwin remained unbeaten on 102*, while Jadeja is just 14 runs short of his century.
Ashwin's last Test hundred came at the same venue against England in 2021. Like in this Test, Ashwin then saved India from a tricky situation in the second innings. Walking in at 86/5, Ashwin made 106 to help India to a fighting total.
With good bounce and carry, India struggled early on against the new ball, but Ashwin stated that he liked batting on the pitch.
"On a surface like this, it's better to go hard like Rishabh [Pant] does," Ashwin told Ravi Shastri at the end of the day's play.
"It's an old-school Chennai surface with bounce and carry. 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 that phase. He's been solid and one of our best batters in the last few years. He told me we don't have to convert twos into threes, which helped me immensely."