India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday underlined the importance of bowling well in partnerships, considering Australia's domineering status at home.
Speaking to the media after the third day of India's tour game against a Cricket Australia XI at the SCG, Ashwin said, “You don’t turn up to Australia thinking wickets are going to seam or spin. They are always going to be flat, we know that. We cannot really complain.
"We have to put it behind us to try and go play some good cricket. The first innings is mostly big scoring innings, so we have to play some smart cricket through the series."
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The five-bowler conundrum
With all-rounder, Hardik Pandya set to miss the Test series against Australia, as he recovers from a lower back injury sustained during the Asia Cup match against Pakistan, India's five-bowler conundrum has once again come into prominence.
“You have to stitch together partnerships even when bowling and it’s very important to ascertain your role to get what you can out of the game," he said.
"It obviously changes the dynamics for the captain when he goes out with one bowler less or one bowler more. But as a bowler, personally, it’s still the same for me.
“As a spinner, it’s important to stick it out there in the first innings; if I get some help in the second innings then (I) try to pitch in.
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"That’s similar to what I did when I was here last time. I had a very good series and that was one of the turning points in my career.”
Clicking as a group
While Indian bowlers fared well in seamer friendly conditions of England and South Africa, Australian wickets, with their pace and bounce, offer a different challenge.
"It's more about trying to get your noses ahead in Australia, every hour, the game can get away from your hands really fast when you're on the field," he said.
"Likewise, when we're batting also, we've got some quality batsmen who can take the game away from them.
"So it's very important to soak together good partnerships as a bowling group and then try and knock the wickets over. It's not like you're going to blow oppositions away. Yes, it might happen once in a while, but it's very important to get our noses ahead and keep it ahead."
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Bowling after a long time
Ashwin was India's most economical bowler, ending the day with figures of 1 for 63.
"I thought the ball came out pretty well. I haven't played an international game for a while so it felt good the way it came out. Obviously the next 4-5 days I will prep up a bit more for the [first Test in Adelaide]," he said.
India's troubles were compounded after an ankle injury to young opener Prithvi Shaw ruled him out of the first Test.
“He (Shaw) is feeling a bit sore and it has swollen up a little bit," Ashwin said.
"It is sad that it happened the first time he came out on the field. I hope he recovers quickly. He has not spoken much. He is a young boy who has come to play in Australia for the first time and had a dream start to his Test career, so this has hit him pretty hard."
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