India vs Australia, 2nd Test: R Ashwin gave us clear plan what he was trying to do, says Matt Renshaw

Bengaluru: Australia opener Matt Renshaw on Sunday said it helped him that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was coming over the wicket while bowling against him. Renshaw again showed enormous guts scoring 60 off 196 balls and was hardly troubled by the Tamil Nadu tweaker. Questioned whether Ashwin’s over the wicket ploy helped him, Renshaw replied:“I think so. It gave us a pretty clear plan what he was trying to do and how we was trying to get us out. We worked out that and just tried to combat that as well as possible.” [caption id=“attachment_3316636” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Matt Renshaw did not hesitate to take on Ravichandran Ashwin. AP[/caption] He said his team is aiming to get substantial first innings lead in the second Test thereby nullifying the challenges of batting last on deteriorating surface. Renshaw said every run is vital for Australia, who ended day two at 237 for six and lead India by 48 runs. “We know that the fourth innings chase is going to be quite hard out there. Hopefully, we get a substantial lead out there and the bowlers can do a successful job, like they did in the first innings. “I think every run is vital and we sort of felt like we were just about to get on top of the game when I got out so it was quite frustrating from that point of view that if  we’d probably doing a few more runs, me and Shaun Marsh, that we could have had complete control of the game,” felt Renshaw. Renshaw observed that the wicket was two-paced. “I think just the variety of different types of spin. I think some are turning quite a lot and some are not turning as much and some are just going on with the angle,” he said. “I think I was trying to play for the one that doesn’t turn and if goes past the bat, it goes past the bat. It was probably a bit harder against the quicks because it is not bouncing as much, and some are going up so I think that challenge is probably the biggest,” he said after scoring his gritty knock. Comparing the surface here with the rank turner in Pune, Renshaw said:“I think Pune we knew it was going to spin, this one we don’t really know which one is going to spin, so that’s probably the hardest challenge.” The 20-year-old has been highly impressive in the series so far, showing remarkable calm and composure in tense moments. “I think it was probably because when I was younger, I wasn’t the biggest bloke (around). (Those days) Once we got to 50, we had to retire and someone else could come in so I didn’t really want to let anyone else bat. I just wanted to bat for myself so I tried to get to 50, so I don’t think it was my fault, I think it was my size,” he said. Asked what was plan when he came out to bat, Renshaw said the team wanted to bat as long as possible and wear the Indian bowlers down. “The plan this morning was just to try and bat as long as possible and wear the Indian bowlers down. They’ve come off a long summer and played a lot of Tests so we know that if we can get them into a high amount of overs, we’d be in a good position,” he said. Renshaw said he tried grinding out in the middle to beat the opposition in the long game. “It is really good couple of days of Test cricket and that’s what it’s all about in this Test. Just trying to grind it out and beat the opposition at the long game. I try and enjoy going out and enjoy any game of cricket I play in; just go out there and play with a smile on my face and bat for as long as possible,” he said. On his dismissal added, he added: “It wasn’t a great move from me but Jadeja is a really smart bowler. He probably saw me coming so he just fired it down. I tried to get a bit of pad on it but just missed it,” he said