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'My father was assured Siraj would win it with three sixes. I said stop joking! Ben Stokes…': Ashwin on Lord's defeat
Mohammed Siraj's fighting 30-ball 4 was not enough to take India over the line at Lord's. Ashwin revealed how his father believed in Siraj to win it for India.
During his 30-ball vigil in the middle at Lord's on Day 5 of the third Test against England, Mohammed Siraj did not play one shot in anger. He was gutsy, patient and mentally strong enough to carry on fighting for India's cause despite getting hit on the left shoulder by a nasty Jofra Archer bouncer. It was tragic from India's point of view that his innings ended not because of a poor shot or an unplayable delivery but because of the ball trickling back onto the stumps due to the Lord's slope even after he had played the perfect defensive push from the middle of his bat.
Siraj came out to bat when India still needed 46 runs with just one wicket in hand. He and Ravindra Jadeja added 23 more runs to the total, making India believe in an improbable win. That's when Ashwin's father, Ravichandran, was "assured" that Siraj would finish the game with three sixes off off-spinner Shoaib Bashir. Ashwin had to remind his father to stop joking because of the way England captain Ben Stokes was bowling from the end.
"Ben Stokes bowled an unbelievable spell. I was discussing this with my father. He was assured that Siraj would finish it by smashing three sixes. I was asking him to cut down the jokes. Looking at Ben Stokes, he started talking about a bowler from his league games, who used to bowl from both ends.
"In both spells of 9.2 and 10 overs, he was bowling at 132-140 kph. At one end, you had Jadeja, standing like a fortress, stitching India's resistance and on the other, you had Stokes doing the same for England," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, reacting to the third Test, which India lost by 22 runs at Lord's.
Stokes bowled unchanged for 9.2 overs in his first spell and then came back to bowl another 10 on the trot. It was he who broke the resilience of Jasprit Bumrah, targeting him with bouncers.
The England captain was not the top run-getter or the one who took the most wickets, but he was adjudged the Player of the Match for his sheer resilience and mental toughness, which kept England pressing for victory.
Ashwin praises Crawley, Root for consoling Siraj
The match was heated, with players from both sides getting involved in multiple on-field scuffles after the events on Day 3 between Shubman Gill and England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. But when Siraj got bowled and England won the match, Joe Root and Crawley were among the first to console the Indian pacer by putting their arm around him. Ben Stokes too patted Siraj's chest and shook hands with Jadeja, who was unbeaten on 61.
"What a battle. It was an amazing Test match. It was a battle among equals. Both teams were challenging each other to the limits and it ended at this moment. Look at how Crawley and Root are consoling Siraj with an arm around him. The beauty of this Test match was that every player was at loggerheads with each other. It was theatrical," Ashwin said.
With England 2-1, the teams will next face each other on July 23 in Manchester.
