Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra drew a striking comparison between R Ashwin and Indian cricket legend VVS Laxman for their shared ability to skilfully handle deliveries coming to their legs. In India’s first Test against Bangladesh on September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Ashwin’s resilient and unbeaten 102 off 112 balls, combined with Ravindra Jadeja’s 86, saved the home side from an early batting collapse.
During a match analysis show on Jio Cinema, Chopra praised Ashwin’s technique and calm under pressure, noting similarities to Laxman’s approach to playing leg-side deliveries.
“He lets the ball travel to him, he has only the shots at his disposal when it comes to the back-foot. When it comes to his legs, he often reminds me of VVS Laxman. But today his driving skills, especially bending his knee and hitting a six against spinners… Jadeja was outstanding, but Ashwin deserves a bit more of credit for today,” Chopra said.
Chopra also highlighted how Ashwin came on to the crease for India with comparatively less playing time in competitive crickets than the rest of the players in the side, but still delivered what was a saviour knock.
“We were really habituated to see him score with the bat, then over some time we saw a bit of a decline in his batting form. He was also demoted in the batting order. He is a very organised player. His ability to absorb pressure, it is there in the foundation of how he plays. The rest of the players have still played in competitive cricket like the T20 World Cup in the build up to this, but he had only last played in the England Tests,” Chopra added.
India’s batting line-up, including big names like skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill, crumbled early to the pace prowess of Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana. At one point, India was in deep trouble with just 144 runs on the board. However, a brief but critical partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant provided some relief, before both fell to Bangladesh’s relentless bowling attack.
Ashwin and Jadeja’s 195-run partnership then became the turning point of the day. Their resilience effectively took the game away from Bangladesh, stabilizing India’s innings and shifting momentum back in favor of the home team. By stumps on Day 1, India stood at a much-improved 339/6, largely thanks to Ashwin and Jadeja’s match-saving performance.
