Ashwin takes 33rd five-wicket haul to give India the upper hand

Roseau (TIP)- The constant search for excellence has pushed Ravichandran Ashwin to new heights, but by his own admission, it has also been “incredibly draining”. Ashwin, the No. 1 Test bowler at the moment, put the disappointment of being dropped from the World Test Championship final with his 33rd five-wicket haul on the opening day of India’s first Test against West Indies on July 13.
The 36-year-old also became the third Indian to reach the 700-wicket milestone in international cricket. With 702 wickets (479 in Tests, 151 in ODIs and 72 T20Is), Ashwin sits behind Anil Kumble (956) and Harbhajan Singh (711).
After the close of play on Day 1, the wily off-spinner was asked about his long journey in international cricket and the ups and downs along the way, including the recent exclusion from the WTC final against Australia.
“There is no cricketer or human being in this world that has gone through the highs without the lows,” Ashwin said. “When you have the lows, it gives you two choices, either you sulk or talk about it and then complain about it and go along with it and go down. Or you learn from it. So I’m someone who’s constantly learnt from my lows,” he added.
“After this good day, I’ll have a good meal, talk to my family, go to bed and then forget about it. But even when you’ve had a good day, there are areas you can work on and get better. This constant search for excellence has held me in good stead, but it’s also been incredibly draining. It’s not a journey that’s been very easy,” he added.
Ashwin, who was introduced into the attack as early as the ninth over, made full use of the bounce on offer at Windsor Park. The West Indies batters offered little resistance and Ashwin was too good for them. “There was some bounce from the wicket, especially from the pavilion end. The wicket had some slope also which gave us bounce. But we utilised the first session very well. The wicket had some moisture and it was coming off it very well,” he said. “It was turning more (in the second session), but the turn was very slow. But in the first session, there was bounce and pace, there was bite. We utilised it very well,” he added.
Rohit, Jaiswal stand out with tons
Roseau: Debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal showed remarkable temperament while skipper Rohit Sharma eschewed his natural flair as their twin tons in a record opening stand put India in complete control of the first Test against West Indies here today. India galloped to 245/2 at tea on the second day. Jasiwal (116 batting off 244 balls) and Rohit (103 off 221 balls) upped the ante in the post-lunch session. The India skipper was out immediately after scoring his 10th Test hundred. Shubman Gill’s first game as No. 3 didn’t start off well. The openers put up India’s best stand of 229 against West Indies, beating 201 set by Sanjay Bangar and Virender Sehwag back in 2001.