"Ravichandran Ashwin And Ravindra Jadeja Bowled Beautifully In The Middle", Says Virender Sehwag After 1st ODI vs Australia

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was impressed with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance in the first ODI against Australia. Virender Sehwag said that Ravichandran Ashwin justified the team management’s decision to recall him to ODIs.

Ravichandran Ashwin played just two ODIs in the last six years prior to the ongoing series against Australia. Ashwin was recalled to the squad as Axar Patel was ruled out of the first two ODIs due to injury. He is expected to feature in the playing XI in all games in the series.

Ravichandran Ashwin Bowled Beautifully – Virender Sehwag

In a conversation with Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag praised Ravichandran Ashwin for effectively using slower deliveries in the match, making it challenging for the batsmen. He said that Jadeja and Ashwin played a significant role in the middle overs.

“The game was looking easy as long as the pacers were bowling initially. That happened even until Ashwin was bowling. But things became difficult after Jadeja picked that wicket. Ashwin also bowled beautifully,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

“He realised that the more slower ones I bowl, more will the ball bounce and turn and make things difficult for the matter. Jadeja and Ashwin bowled beautifully in the middle and actually made a comeback. So the experience that Rohit, Dravid and Agarkar wanted proved to be a good decision,” he added.

Ashwin was economical with the ball, picking up one wicket for 47 runs in his 10-over quota. Ravindra Jadeja also bagged one wicket for 51 runs in his full quota of bowling. The Indian bowlers bundled out the opposition for 276 runs in 50 overs.

Very Difficult To Judge A Player Based On Just One Match – Ashish Nehra

Ashish Nehra stated that assessing a player’s performance based on a single match is difficult. However, Nehra emphasized that Ashwin troubled the Australian batters with his variations.

“It is very difficult to judge a player based on just one match but the kind od player that Ashwin is…you brought him back for experience, and the numbers showed that,” Nehra said.

“Yes he did not start off well but he came back strong and when a few wickets fell, he too started to turn the ball and bowl slower ones. In fact he made things very difficult for Cameron Green. Overall, it was a satifactory performance and it showed that the more your play the better he will get,” he added.

The KL Rahul-led team took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with a convincing victory in the first match. India will be hoping to clinch the series when they take on Australia in the second ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday, September 24.

Also read: Ravichandran Ashwin And Ravindra Jadeja Bowling In Tandem Doesn’t Work For India – Aakash Chopra