The Day 1 of first India vs West Indies Test at Dominica belonged to Ravichandran Ashwin who returned to the playing XI after an agonising World Test Championship (WTC) final snub. World No 1 Test bowler, Ashwin was the first-choice for a lot of experts but the off-spinner was surprisingly excluded as India went on to lose by 209 runs to Australia.
IND vs WI: With Ashwin as the chief wrecker, India take control of 1st Test
On his return, on Wednesday, Ashwin was in his element as he broke the opening partnership and went on to complete his 33rd five-wicket haul as West Indies were bowled out for 150. He is now sixth in the list of bowlers with the most fifers in Test cricket. He also completed 700 international wickets on Wednesday and became the first India bowler to dismiss a father-son pair in Test cricket after he removed Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s son Tagenarine.
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At the end of the day’s play, Ashwin reflected on the WTC snub and said that while missing out on the final was “unfortunate” he didn’t think sulking over it would have been the best thing for the team.
“As a cricketer when you have a shot at a WTC Final and to sit out is fine. For me, it was how do I respond and how do I make sure the dressing room is up and about,” Ashwin said after stumps on day one.
“Winning the WTC Final is the most important thing and it could have been a very high point in my career and I could have played a good role in it, but it was just unfortunate that it didn’t pan out and the first day left us too far behind in the shed.”
“But what is the difference between me and another person that is going to sulk (about being dropped). All I would like to give my teammates and India cricket as a whole is some understanding and my best efforts on the field and that is where I would like to leave it.”
Ashwin added that there are no highs in life without the lows and the “constant search for excellence” has kept him in good stead.
“There’s no human being or cricketer who has gone through the highs without the lows,” he said after the first day’s play. “When you have lows, it gives you two chances – either you sulk and complain about it and go along and go down, or you learn from it. I am someone who’s constantly learnt from my lows. In fact the best thing that’s happened after this good day that I’ve had is that I’ll have a good meal, talk to my family and then go to bed and forget about it because when you’ve had a good day you know you’ve had a good day, but there are areas you can work on and get better for tomorrow,” he said.
“So this constant search for excellence has held me in good stead all the time but it’s also been incredibly draining. It’s not a journey that’s very easy. It’s been draining but I’m very thankful for all the lows that have come my way because without the lows there are no highs in your life.”
India were 80/0 at stumps on Day 1 and trail the hosts by 70 runs.
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