'They had gone too far': Ravichandran Ashwin's bold take on James Anderson's claim

During the India vs England Test at Visakhapatnam, England pacer James Anderson had stated that even if the target was 500 or 600, his side would be aiming to reach the score in 60 or 70 overs. England, however, failed to reach 399 and suffered a defeat in the contest by 106 runs. Indian spin magician Ravichandran Ashwin has now shared his opinion on this. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin stated that the visitors had gone too far with their confidence.

“James Anderson went into a press conference in the second Test after winning the first considerably well. Much respect to them for winning that. He told the press that even if the 4th innings target was 500 or 600, we’ll finish it in 60 overs. Even though it was an example of their positive mindset, it felt like they had gone too far,” Ashwin said.

Despite claiming a 1-0 lead in the series, the English cricket team failed to carry forward the momentum. India, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, scripted a prompt comeback and won the series 4-1. The five-match outing against India also marked England’s first Test series loss under the leadership of Ben Stokes head coach Brandon McCullum. Ashwin also talked about Bazball.

“The one thing I understood after the first Test is that Bazball isn’t just aggressive cricket. It is defenseless cricket. They aren’t going to play a defensive shot at all. They are going to get out if they play defense. To my surprise, Joe Root also agreed to their game plan. Because if you take world cricket’s best defense rankings, Root is an easy number 1 on that list against spin. He also bought into their approach,” Ashwin explained.

The five-match Test series against England turned out to be a memorable one for Ashwin. The 37-year-old earned his 36th five-wicket haul on the third day of the final Test in Dharamsala, which was also his 100th Test. With this, he became the cricketer with the most five-wicket hauls for India in the history of Test cricket.

Ashwin surpassed another India great Anil Kumble’s record for most five-wicket hauls (35). Overall, Ashwin matched former New Zealand cricketer Richard Hadlee’s tally and he now has two greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne ahead of him on this elite list of players.