10 days back Iceland Cricket had posted a tweet highlight R Ashwin's Test numbers and comparing it to the likes of Shane Warner and Richard Hardlee, which put the India great ahead among the all-rounders in the format. Even though Ashwin is regarded for his all-round role in red-ball cricket, seldom has he found a place among the greatest of all time whenever a list is made. On Sunday, Ashwin once again showed why his numbers should never go unnoticed as he put on a match-winning show against Bangladesh to help India bounce back to script a three-wicket win and clinch the series.
Shreyas Iyer was India's last batting hope when Axar Patel was bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz to complete his five-wicket hail. India were 74 for seven, staring at a shocking defeat in Mirpur. Iyer was in dire need of a partnership and India had one last card to play. Ashwin provided the perfect support to Iyer, before the pair put on a counter-punching show on Day 4 to leave Bangladesh clueless. They stitched an unbeaten 71-run stand, the second-highest for the eighth wicket in the fourth innings for India, as India won by three wickets.
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Ashwin scored an unbeaten 42 off 62 while also picking six wickets across two innings, for which he was recognised as the Player of the Match. After the win, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag posted a stunning tweet on Ashwin to perfectly sum up his Mirpur performance.
{{/usCountry}}Ashwin scored an unbeaten 42 off 62 while also picking six wickets across two innings, for which he was recognised as the Player of the Match. After the win, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag posted a stunning tweet on Ashwin to perfectly sum up his Mirpur performance.
{{/usCountry}}“The scientist did it. Somehow got this one. Brilliant innings from Ashwin and wonderful partnership with Shreyas Iyer,” he tweeted.
“We didn't have much batting left. It was one of those games where we let the game drift whenever we could have shut it off. Shreyas batted beautifully. Sometimes these situations you feel like you have to get ahead of things, they bowled good lines and I felt that we didn't trust our defences enough. Loved the way Shreyas batted. Pitches are quite good here. But I thought the ball got soft really quickly. Credit to Bangladesh, they put us under real pressure at certain moments,” said Ashwin after collecting his Player of the Match trophy.