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'When I got hit, he started laughing and making fun of me': R Ashwin on getting sledged by Australia player
R Ashwin recalled the India vs Australia Sydney Test of the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he was regularly getting sledged by the Australian fielders during his epic resistance with Hanuma Vihari in the fourth innings of the Test.
R Ashwin recalled the India vs Australia Sydney Test of the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he was regularly getting sledged by the Australian fielders during his epic resistance with Hanuma Vihari in the fourth innings of the Test. Now, the exchange between Ashwin and Tim Paine where the ex-Australia captain said to the Indian spinner that he can't wait for him to get to the Gabba, is well known, it turns out Paine wasn't the only one mouthing words at Ashwin.
Fielding at forward short leg, Matthew Wade was constantly in Ashwin's ears while he and Vihari batted to take India towards a draw. Ashwin copped plenty of blows to his body, especially against Aussie speedster Pat Cummins, who was sending down a barrage of bouncers to the two batters. Yet, somehow, Ashwin tackled them all, by either fending, jumping or taking the blows himself, all of which rattled the Australians.
"When I got hit, Matthew Wade… he started making fun. He's like 'Aah' and all that in front of my face. And I get like, 'He's making a mickey out of this. And I must show who I am. I have not gone into such a zone in my life before or after. I go into a zone of saying it's either you or me," Ashwin said on the documentary 'Bandon Mein Tha Dum' streaming on VOOT.
"There was this ball where I tried to go forward and my spikes got stuck. And immediately, Matthew Wade started laughing. 'Hahaha, that's so agri and all that stuff'. I put a chest guard on, which was Vihari's, which they started making fun of. 'This is very agricultural' and all that. They more they started going, the more resolve we started showing."
Ashwin opened up on Paine's 'can't wait for you to get to the Gabba, Ash' comment, saying he wanted to return the favour by saying plenty of things himself, but the India spinner managed to retrain himself and focus on the job at hand.
"I genuinely felt that with the way he plays the front foot defense, if he was to come to India, it would have been 8 wickets for me in 4 Tests. That's how I saw it. And I wanted to say it like that but I didn't, in case I would miss getting him out once, that it would go against me, so I said, 'I can't wait for you to get to India, because that will be your last series for sure'," added Ashwin
