'International cricket is all about adapting to different conditions': Ashwin after another memorable day

Ravichandran Ashwin credited his successful adjustments to the conditions in the West Indies for his ‘five-star’ show on Day 1 of the Dominica Test. The off-spinner took five wickets for 60 as India bowled out West Indies on 150.

India were 80/0 and trailed by 70 runs at the end of Day 1.

IND vs WI: With Ashwin as the chief wrecker, India take control of 1st Test

It was a successful return to the playing XI for Ashwin who was ignored for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia the last month. The match that India lost by 209 runs.

“Thought it was a pretty good performance. There was a bit of moisture on the pitch earlier but it started to spin later. Saw on the TV as well that it turned more later. Had to adapt early. It was a bit dry, have to get the pace right to trouble the batsmen,” Ashwin said while speaking to the broadcaster at the end of the day’s play.

“International cricket is all about adapting to different conditions. With so many leagues around, we can get carried away with a few performances in these leagues but international cricket is different.”

Apart from five wickets, Ashwin became the third Indian to cross 700 international wickets on Wednesday. With the dismissal of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, he also became the first Indian to dismiss a father-son pair in Test cricket.

In a chat with BCCI, Ashwin revealed what it took for him to adjust to Test cricket and conditions in the Caribbean islands. The off-spinner was recently playing in the T20 league TNPL.

How does one overcome jet lag, adapts to the bowling conditions and executes it to perfection?

Bowling on cement surfaces, says @ashwinravi99