Ravichandran Ashwin reacted to India’s series defeat against New Zealand
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- R Ashwin opened up on India’s defeat vs NZ
- Ashwin took responsibility for the defeat
- India lost a home series after 12 years
Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the key reasons behind India’s world record run of winning 18 home Test series in a row over 12 years, and the legendary Indian bowler was evidently disappointed after the dream run came to an end following New Zealand’s stunning victory on Indian soil that saw them whitewash the Rohit Sharma-led team 3-0.
This marked the first instance of India suffering a whitewash at home in a Test series of three or more matches. Ashwin had arguably the worst home series of his career as he managed to take just nine wickets in three matches against the Black Caps.
The 38-year-old was quick to take responsibility for the debacle and admitted that he was one of the big reasons for the home team’s embarrassing showing. Apart from his bowling, Ashwin admitted his failure to get runs with the bat in the lower order contributed to the team’s declining fortunes.
“We have been hit by a 3-0 loss to New Zealand. I read that it has never happened in India in history. I don’t know how to react to it. I know that in my career and in my experience in cricket, we don’t have so many emotions when we play. But it’s a very shattering experience. That’s the right word for it. I didn’t know how to react or respond to it for the last 2-3 days,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
“I expect a lot from myself. I am a guy who says I am the reason for everything that went wrong. I am also a big reason and a big part of it (series loss). I couldn’t contribute to the lower-order runs. As a bowler, I know that runs are a vital currency for a bowler. I started well in many places, then I threw it away on a couple of occasions. I put my best but it wasn’t enough,” Ashwin added.
Ashwin, whose batting was the talk of the town in the Bangladesh series in September when he hit a century against the Chennai Test could not repeat the heroics against New Zealand. The Indian cricket legend made just 51 runs in six innings at an average of 8.50.
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