IND v BAN 1st Test: Ravi Ashwin ‘pleased’ with 6th Test hundred, says ‘it’s special to play in Chennai’

Ace India all-rounder Ravi Ashwin began the home season with an emphatic hundred against Bangladesh on day one of the Chennai Test. With Team India’s scorecard reading 144 for six at one stage, the two all-rounders – Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, bailed the team out of trouble with an unbeaten 194-run stand for the seventh wicket. While Jadeja was not out on 86 off 117 balls, Ravi Ashwin completed his hundred (102* off 112 balls), atstumps, with India scoring 339 for six.

A stellar TON when the going got tough!

A round of applause for Chennai's very own - @ashwinravi99 👏👏

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Speaking to former India coach Ravi Shastri on the sidelines of day one of the Chennai Test, Ashwin, who hit his second Test hundred at home and sixth overall, said it’s always special to play here and contribute.

ALSO READ:IND vs BAN, 1st Test: Ravi Ashwin ton mounts India's comeback after Mahmud's four-fer; Jadeja unbeaten on 86

“Always a special feeling to play in front of the home crowd,” Ashwin said.

“This is a ground I completely love to play cricket in. It's given me a lot of wonderful memories. The last time I got a hundred, you were the coach Ravi bhai (Ravi Shastri). It does feel special.”

“Worked on a few things, and on a surface like this with a bit of spice, if you're going after the ball, might as well go after it really hard like Rishabh does. It's an old Chennai surface with a bit of bounce and carry. The red soil pitch allows you to play a few shots if you are willing to just get in line and give it a bit of a tonk when there's width,” Ashwin continued.

India batted first after winning the toss, with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant returning to the side after a long hiatus. Bangladesh seamer Hasan Mahmud struck gold up front, dismissing four out of the top five batters, starting with Rohit Sharma on just six.

He got Shubman Gill caught behind on a duck before picking his biggest wicket in Tests – Virat Kohli, caught behind on six. Although Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal added 62 runs for the fourth wicket, Hasan returned to remove Pant on 39, who struggled to get going on this pitch that assisted seamers earlier.

Lanky youngster Nahid Rana dismissed Jaiswal on 56 before Mehidy Hasan Miraz got rid of KL Rahul on 16 to put India’s back against the wall.

Jadeja, Ashwin got India back on track

Staring at a low first-inning total, all-rounders Ashwin and Jadeja got the hosts back on track with counter-attacking cricket. While Jadeja deployed a defensive approach, Ashwin took the attack to the opposition from the word go.

In no time, he got past his 50 and by the end of the day, Ashwin completed his sixth Test hundred, putting India in the driver’s seat.

(With inputs from agencies)