India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey rated Ravichandran Ashwin as one of the greatest match-winners of the country and was also in awe of young Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maturity in his brilliant Test debut.
Ashwin, the world’s top-ranked bowler, recorded his best overseas Test figures of 12 for 131 (5/60 and 7/71) to decimate a hapless West Indies and hand India a thumping innings and 141-run victory inside three days in the series opener here on Friday.
“It was important to score a big first-innings score which we did and it provided a base to the bowlers. The way Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja bowled is praiseworthy.
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“We in the dressing room know the value of a bowler’s performance. According to me, Ashwin is one of the greatest match-winners of our country. He has won a lot of matches for us and has been a consistent performer.”
If Ashwin starred in the bowling department, it was young left-handed opener Jaiswal who took all the limelight among the batters with a mature 171 on his Test debut.
“The way he (Jaiswal) batted was fabulous and especially for a debutant to come and score a century and that too on not on an easy wicket. It was a slow wicket, got slower as the game progressed, stroke-making wasn’t easy,” Mhambrey said, praising the 21-year-old.
“If you look at the way he bats, he likes to take on the game but the way he applied himself on this wicket was very good to see.
“That’s what you need at the international level, adapt yourself to different conditions, situations and that’s what the team expected and he did the role. It’s definitely very heartening, positive. The performance will give him lot of confidence going ahead.”
Mhambrey said the start couldn’t have been better for India in the series and the visitor would look to carry on the momentum in the second Test in Port of Spain starting July 20.
“Ideal start for a Test match, that’s what you expect, that’s what you want to carry the performance from the last series. Honestly, if you ask me, we didn’t expect that to be so easy.”
Mhambrey refused to downplay the Caribbean side, saying India cannot afford to take any international Test match lightly.
“These are outside noises. There is nothing as such in the dressing room. We came here to play international cricket, Test cricket which is the highest level of cricket. There is no bigger motivation than this for a player,” he said.
“Our plans were set, we knew our approach and we are going to give the same application throughout the series. What people think outside doesn’t matter, what matters is our thought process and execution.”
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