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Cricket Players'He was having a go at us...': Ashwin reveals story behind his epic 'wanna get you to India' response to Tim Paine
It all started with Tim Paine saying, "I can't wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash, I'll tell you what, woohoo," ahead of an over of spinner Nathan Lyon.
The Border-Gavaskar 2020-21 Trophy in Australia was a historic one for India, who were battered and bruised but resilient like iron away from home. After being routed for 36 in the second innings of the series opener in Adelaide, India defied all odds to outwit the hosts and clinch the series by a 2-1 margin. The Test assignment also saw Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari combating time and injuries to help India draw the game in Sydney. (Also Read | ‘I intentionally wanted to hit Sachin Tendulkar and wound him’: Shoaib Akhtar’s shocking revelation)
Ashwin and Vihari batted with incredible grit against the Australian bowling attack to save the third Test, while chasing a mammoth 407-run target. After the hosts failed to break down India's resolve, Australia captain Tim Paine started poking Ashwin from behind the sticks. It all started with Paine saying, "I can't wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash, I'll tell you what, woohoo," ahead of an over of spinner Nathan Lyon. To this Ashwin replied, “Just like we wanna get you to India. That will be your last series.”
The exchange between Ashwin and Paine was among the highlights of India's series triumph on the foreign turf. The seasoned tweaker, who was India's second-highest wicket-taker in the series with 12 wickets in three games, revealed the story behind his banter with the opposition skipper.
"I think Vihari will remember why I said that as well. Because we had a discussion on the way Tim Paine was batting through the series. I kept telling these guys and we got a very different sort of a short leg position, which was forward short leg and then we usually have a leg slip. We had a chat... Rahane, myself, Vihari and we said, 'Pujara will generally stand at leg slip but this guy won't stand with the helmet. Let's put him somewhere else and get this guy under the lid'," Ashwin said during the trailer launch of the Voot Select's web series Bandon Mein Tha Dum'.
"We had this conversation and parked him there in a very awkward position and he (Paine) actually nicked off there. We had a celebration and I told Vihari, 'This guy better not come to India. If he actually comes to India, he will be going there every single time. At the end of the day, he was having a go at us when we were batting and it just came out of my mind because we had a conversation like that. It was very instantaneous," he further added.
In the second game of the series at Melbourne, Paine nudged it to Vihari at backward short leg, with Ashwin getting the ball to dip and turn in the first innings in the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Paine tried to sledge Ashwin and get into his nerves in the subsequent Test in Sydney.
“Maybe. Are you a selector here as well?” Paine continued the chatter. “At least my teammates like me, d**khead. I’ve got a lot more Indian friends than you do. “Even your teammates think you’re a goose. Don’t they? Every one of them."
Ashwin refused to bat until Paine stopped chattering. “Tell me when you’re done," he said. “I’ll talk all day, mate. Wait until you get to the Gabba, pal,” Paine responded. When bowler Lyon asked why there was a hold-up in play, Ashwin said, “It’s your guy, man. Not me."
Ashwin also battled injury to put up a memorable blockathon with Vihari at the SCG. He was forced to miss the Gabba Test owing to a severe back spasm but forged a vigilant 62-run stand to lead India's match-saving efforts in Sydney.
"It was surprising to me that I went bowling after the injury with painkillers. And bowled 13 or 14 over on the trot. It was so bad I was rolling on the floor because of the pain. My wife and kids helped me to stand and then the Physio came to check me. I went to the game crawling, but did my best," said Ashwin about his batting display.
