Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar heaped praises on Ravichandran Ashwin for fitting perfectly in the number 6 position and allowing the team management to play with an extra bowler.
Ashwin has been in sublime form with the bat in the series scoring a century in the 1st Test and bailing India out of trouble in the 3rd Test after a top order collapse put India on backfoot. His unbeaten 75 ensured India reach a comfortable 234/5 by the end of day’s play after reeling at 126/5 at one stage.
“It is just his 3rd innings at no. 6 and he has never batted there before the start of this series, so it is just brilliant to see. He is someone we knew had a great potential with the bat but never did so at no. 6. Plus having the knowledge that he is someone who started off as a top-order batsman at the start of his career and contributed immensely for his state team as well,” Bangar said.
“So it gives us options and the type of contribution the lower order is making, puts us in a confidence position whenever the team finds itself in a tight corner,” said the batting coach.
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Bangar also praised Wriddhiman Saha for his fighting 46 and called him a “fabulous team player”.
“Saha got a 40-odd in both the Tests and he has been making contributions in the lower-order against Sri Lanka and South Africa as well. He has been a fabulous team player and is willing to do anything required of him. And he has consistently proved that he is a good enough player to contribute consistently,” he added.
Moreover, the coach was happy with the batting effort put in by the Indian batsmen on Tuesday. “I think it is quite a challenging Test wicket and not easy for the batsmen to straight away play their strokes. They have to be very watchful and play the ball under their eye. It was seaming a bit and it was stopping a bit as well. It was a very challenging wicket for the first day for batting, and overall I am very satisfied with the batting effort,” he said.
Bangar felt the pitch was tricky on the 1st day but it will ease out as the game progresses.
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“Batting on the first day of any Test match is quite challenging, and especially the first session. We got to 87 in the first session and we would have ideally wanted to lose one wicketless but we still thought that we handled the first session pretty well,” he said after the day’s play.
“In the second session, yes definitely, we would have liked to have a few more runs. We sort of couldn’t come out with enough solutions for the lines Roston Chase was bowling. He was bowling a defensive line taking six fielders on the on side.
“The ball was also getting softer and the outfield was also slow. All these factors need to be looked into. At the end of it I thought it was a hard-fought day one of the Test,” he added.
