Team India registered a dominant innings-and-64-run win over England in the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala, taking the series 4-1. Ravichandran Ashwin, taking part in his 100th Test, was the star on the third and final day of the game as he picked a record-breaking 36th five-wicket haul, helping the hosts bowl England out for 195.
Ashwin also ended as the highest wicket-taker in the series despite a slow start; he had picked 9 wickets across the first two Tests and was further forced to withdraw mid-way through the third match in Rajkot due to a medical emergency in the family. In a brilliant display of commitment towards the side and the game, Ashwin returned merely a day later and also took the field in the same match, taking a wicket in the second innings.
Also read Shubman Gill accused of insulting Anderson by Jonny Bairstow, heated argument follows as Jurel, Sarfaraz join in
The off-spinner, then, picked a fifer in the fourth and fifth Test, and Indian head coach Rahul Dravid hailed Ashwin for his undeterred commitment to the Indian team throughout the series. During the post-match interview, Dravid was asked about a standout moment in the series, and while the head coach commended the various match-winning performances, he pin-pointed Ashwin's return in the third Test as a poignant moment of the series.
“Some great performances all through, hard to pick one standout moment. I'll just say Ashwin coming back to the team after what he went through… yeah, the performances were there, we expected us to do well, but Ash coming back after what he went through, for the team, and wanting to come back and contribute to the team, it really signifies what this team is about, and what the character of this team is. That was the standout moment in this series. It really gladdens your heart as a coach,” Dravid told the broadcasters.
{{/usCountry}}“Some great performances all through, hard to pick one standout moment. I'll just say Ashwin coming back to the team after what he went through… yeah, the performances were there, we expected us to do well, but Ash coming back after what he went through, for the team, and wanting to come back and contribute to the team, it really signifies what this team is about, and what the character of this team is. That was the standout moment in this series. It really gladdens your heart as a coach,” Dravid told the broadcasters.
{{/usCountry}}During the Rajkot Test, Ashwin had picked his milestone 500th wicket but hours after the feat, the off-spinner had to withdraw from the Test to attend to his mother in Chennai. He flew home but returned a day later, and took a wicket in the second innings, helping India achieve a record 434-run win over the English team.