XtraTime Web Desk – Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin were indeed the heros of the pink test for India at SCG. Their partnership didn’t make much on board but played a combined of 259 balls which rescued India after a grueling encounter.
Speaking to BCCI TV, Ravichandran Ashwin said, “Entirely I can’t tell you how I feel but I think it was really really special. Infact both of us went numb and blank. Even we both didn’t celebrate towards the end because we don’t know what to make of it”.
Not only Pant, Jadeja and Vihari, Ashwin also was suffering from back pain. His wife revealed this on Twitter and that made his innings a very special one. Talking about that Ashwin said, “Last night, when I went to bed with a sore back, I was just telling myself if I can just keep backing everything just like how Faf Du Plessis did in Adelaide, I can give myself a good chance”.
Talking about his partnership with Ashwin, Vihari said, “Ash was like a elder brother. He was communicating whenever I felt a bit loose. He told me to focus and take it as deep as possible. Whatever communication we had, it was really special.”
Vihari and Ashwin played the way they did because of how Rishabh Pant anchored his innings. Speaking about that Ashwin said, “In the morning the way Rishabh played, it sort of made everyone hopeful of something if it could have been achieved. Nevertheless, I think Puji and Rishabh laid the foundation to free us to play last 2-3 hours.
Speaking about their communication, Ashwin added, “From our side, the communication was very very good. The run wasn’t more important in the innings, it’s the batting time. The communication between us was whenever we got comfortable against a certain bowler in a certain spell then we wanted to hang on to that specially with his hamstring and my back injury, we really didn’t want to chop and change and losing our concentration.
Speaking about the outcome of the match, Vihari said, “Getting a draw out of it was a fabulous result for us. I feel if I was fit and I was not injured and if Puji would’ve had some more time, we could’ve had a different result. Nonetheless, I think it’s a massive result for us”.