‘Why did you finish the match in 3 days?’- Ravichandran Ashwin reveals conversation with co-passenger during his Indore flight for 3rd Test against Australia

Following the conclusion of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, India’s veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared an interesting conversation he had with a fellow passenger during the flight out of Delhi. He said the passenger expressed disappointment over the early conclusion of the Tests in the eagerly anticipated series.

Ashwin emphasized that neither of the Tests was played on pitches that suited for such early ends, but he underlined that it is improper to compare batter’s changed approach in Test cricket.

Australia was considered to be one of India’s toughest opponents in home Test matches, but Rohit Sharma‘s team completely destroyed the visitors, causing Australia to give up the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after just six days of play. The Kangaroos lost the Nagpur Test by an inning and 132 runs after being bowled out for just 177 and 91, respectively.

Australia made a better first-innings batting performance in the second Test in Delhi, scoring 263 runs, thanks to Peter Handscomb’s impressive 72 not out. Yet on Day 3 morning, they lost, falling from 85 for 2 to 113 all out as Ravindra Jadeja smashed the batting order, taking a 7-wicket haul.

We should not compare both approaches and judge who is better: Ravichandran Ashwin

“I thought if we can manage to get 5 wickets in the first session, we can manage to chase somewhere around 150-160. It was going on in my mind. In the end, they were bowled out before the end of the first session, before the wicket could get better. I met someone on the flight who asked ‘You guys, why did you finish the match in 3 days? I feel sad,” Ashwin said in his YouTube show.

Ashwin defended his statement to the other passenger by claiming that batters’ attitudes towards selecting between playing big knocks and getting quick runs have modified. “Sir, two things have changed. One is the mentality of the cricketers. They want to play fast-paced these days. They want to score runs quickly’,” said the Rajasthan franchise spinner.

“Cricketers these days don’t want to take time and then score runs. But just because of that, we should not compare both approaches and judge who is better. We should never compare across generations. Secondly, both of these games shouldn’t have ended in 3 days,” the off-spinner further told the person.