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Following his match-winning spell and century against Bangladesh in the first Test, Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on idolising legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh during his junior-age cricket days and replicating his bowling action during matches.
Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 and got to play some games with Harbhajan before latter's final Test in 2015. The Indian spinning duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took India to a comfortable victory of 280 runs over Bangladesh in the first Test at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday. Speaking on JioCinema, Ashwin said that Harbhajan was a "huge inspiration" and taking his spot was "huge shoes to fill" for him. "It was huge shoes to fill for me. I used to replicate his action and bowl in junior-age cricket days, so he was a huge inspiration. When I came into the team replacing him, I never thought we would both coincide at the same time, but it so happened. There were constant doubts about whether I could deliver in red-ball cricket because I came through the IPL, which shaped people's perceptions. But Test cricket is a format I have adored, and I wanted to improve every single day. A lot of people helped me along the way, and I am so glad to be standing here today," he added. Coming to the match, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field first. The top-order collapsed, and India was left at 34/3. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (56 in 118 balls, with nine fours) and Rishabh Pant (39 in 52 balls, with six fours) stitched a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket, bringing India into the game. After India was reduced to 144/6, Ravichandran Ashwin (113 in 133 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes) and Ravindra Jadeja (86* in 117 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes) stitched a 199-run partnership, helping India reach 376 in 91.2 overs. Hasan Mahmud (5/83) was the top bowler for Bangladesh, destroying the Indian top order, removing skipper Rohit Sharma (6), Shubman Gill (0), and Virat Kohli (6). Taskin Ahmed also took three wickets for 55 runs. In their first innings, Bangladesh lost wickets regularly. Shakib Al Hasan (32), Litton Das (22) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (27*) put up a brief fight for Bangladesh, but Bumrah (4/50) and Akash Deep (2/19) broke the back of Bangladesh batting. Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. Bangladesh was bundled out for 149 runs in their first inning and trailed by 227 runs. In their second innings, India once again lost their top-order quickly and was struggling at 67/3. But centuries from Gill (119*) and Rishabh Pant (109 in 128 balls, with 13 fours and four sixes) helped them reach 287/4 before the innings was declared. Bangladesh was set a massive 515 to win. Bangladesh started off the run-chase well, with openers Zakir Hasan (33) and Shadman Islam (35) putting up a 62-run opening stand. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51* in 60 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) held the innings together as Ravichandran Ashwin (3/63) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/18) were among the wickets. At the end of day three, Bangladesh was 158/4, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51*) and Shakib Al Hasan (5*) unbeaten. On the final day, Ashwin and Jadeja ran through the Bangladesh line-up, bundling them out for 228 runs, with Shanto playing a fighting knock of 82 in 127 balls, with six fours and three sixes. Ashwin ended the inning with figures of 6/88, while Jadeja took 3/58. Bumrah got one wicket. Ashwin secured the 'Player of the Match' for his all-round show. (ANI)
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