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Cricket Players‘I was heartbroken as a fan’: Ashwin shares most memorable India-West Indies moment, reveals favourite Windies cricketer
India tweaker R Ashwin in an interaction with FanCode, spoke about his most memorable encounter between the two sides.
After a successful England tour, which saw India secure both the white-ball series, the Men In Blue will look to carry forward the momentum in the series against West Indies, which starts from July 22. The series kicks-off with a three-match ODI series, following which both the sides will meet in a five-match T20 encounter, which starts from July 29.
Out of form batter Virat Kohli won't be a part of the series and so is the case with premier seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. India captain Rohit Sharma too won't be playing the ODIs and Shikhar Dhawan will lead the unit in his absence.
Meanwhile, the series will also mark the return of KL Rahul, who has been toiling hard behind the scenes to make a rousing comeback. Kuldeep Yadav has also been included in the side.
Ahead of the series, India tweaker Ashwin in an interaction with FanCode, spoke about his most memorable encounter between the two sides. Ashwin recalled a match from India's tour of West Indies back in 1997, when the visitors had failed to complete a 120-run chase in a red-ball encounter.
“India were about to chase 120 in a Test match with lots of time. 120 to get, I thought it will be the best chance for India to win a Test match in West Indies. And I think, having played cricket for a while I can safely say that wicket was not a wicket where 120 could be chased. Quite a memory, India couldn't chase 120. I was quite heartbroken as a fan,” said the carrom-ball specialist.
The Indian unit led by Sachin Tendulkar had crumbled for 81 at Bridgetown while chasing 120 in the fourth innings. Apart from VVS Laxman's 19, none of the Indian batters, including the great Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin, had failed to reach double digits, with Ian Bishop accounting for four Indian wickets. The remaining six wickets were shared between Curtly Ambrose and Franklyn Rose shared three scalps each.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had scored an unbeaten 137 off 284 balls in the first innings was named player of the match.
In the video, Ashwin also named his favourite Windies cricketer. “I was the biggest fan of Brian Lara, his 375 followed up by 400 was something that really attracted me towards the West Indies,” the spinner said.
