India off-spinner R Ashwin has revealed his battle with pain during the Sydney Test against Australia, saying he went to the game ‘crawling’, with his wife and kids offering a helping hand. Ashwin further said that solid communication between him and Hanuma Vihari helped the Indian team seal a heroic draw against Australia.
Ashwin had combined with Hanuma Vihari to script a stunning draw for India in the Test match. The duo stitched an unbeaten stand of 62 runs for the seventh wicket and played a staggering 289 deliveries between them to deny Australia a victory in the game. Ashwin said that he was wincing in lower-back pain after an injury during practice but bowled 14 overs at a stretch on Day 4 before producing a gritty batting display on Day 5.
“We both got comfortable the instant we went in. We realised what problem we had, he could not come forward and be going on the backfoot. He was struggling from the hamstring injury. When I went to the crease I could not go forward against the fast bowlers. So in that situation, I said we will rotate and see how this will work,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“After sometimes he was facing the fast bowlers and I was facing the spinners. And with that, we batted for a couple of overs. There was solid communication between him and me we were helping each other out,” he added.
