"For all the flak you've given me...": Ravichandran Ashwin's epic reply to Dinesh Karthik on stunning catch

The veteran India National Cricket Team off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave an epic reply to the former wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik over the latter's query related to his stunning catch in the third Test against New Zealand National Cricket Team on day 2.

Ravichandran Ashwin impressed everyone with his spectacular catch to dismiss Daryl Mitchell on Saturday, November 2, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

I don't think you've seen me drop too many - Ravichandran Ashwin to Dinesh Karthik

On the 5th ball of the 28th over, Daryl Mitchell came down the track to smash Ravindra Jadeja for a boundary. However, he was not able to make a good connection with the ball and it went up in the air.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who is not among the fittest cricketers in the Indian team, ran backwards from the mid-on, turned sideways, and completed an excellent catch with a dive to leave New Zealand at 94/4.

After the conclusion of play on day 2, Dinesh Karthik, who has played many matches with Ravichandran Ashwin, asked the off-spinner about his catch and praised his efforts. Karthik said:

"What a good catch that was. What were you thinking standing at mid-on? Did you see something like that coming your way?"

Responding to this, Ashwin came up with an epic reply and said, "For all the flak you've given me over the years. I don't think you've seen me drop too many."

I mean I was just telling myself it's gonna anyway leave me - Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin further revealed that he was not expecting to take the catch, but as soon as he got close to the ball, his 'great hands' did the rest of the job. He stated:

"I mean I was just telling myself it's gonna anyway leave me. I wanted to get as close to the ball as possible, and then, obviously, I think I've got great hands. So I trusted my hands to go through with it."

Ravichandran Ashwin was also asked about employing the carrom ball and he said that he was just trying different things to get the job done. He elaborated:

"The game itself is divided into two halves. The one from the pavilion end and the other side, the wicket is responding very differently. It's slightly flatter from the one where we are bowling from the dressing room side, the bounce is much lesser, so I thought I will try and use it the other way. The batters are also knowing that it's easier to take me on from this side. So I wanted to give something different."

While talking about the potential target for India with New Zealand having a 143-run lead, Ravichandran Ashwin was hopeful of picking the last wicket quickly on day 3. He said:

"Hopefully not many, we should wrap it up with one or two runs here and there. Any runs saved in this innings is going to be much more critical for us when we chase it down. It's not going to be easy, we'll have to bat really well. I expected a lot more bounce and speed from this Mumbai pitch, it has been quite slow which is a surprise for me. It's not a typical Bombay pitch, but much slower than usual."

Watch: Ravindra Jadeja bamboozles Matt Henry with a stunning delivery in the Mumbai Test

Watch: Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik's interaction