I enjoy batting against England: Ashwin

The spinner said he relishes having a psychological advantage of batting well against England. “I batted well against them in 2012 too. I am enjoying the way I am batting now. I have tried and stayed a little positive. I have done a few adjustments like opening up my stance a bit and I am happy and confident of how I am batting,” Ashwin said in a chat after the second day’s play. 

On the partnership with Jayant, Ashwin said having a good rapport with the debutant helped them to bat better. “Jayant and I go a long way. He was in Chennai a couple of years back and he stayed close to my house. He practices with me. It is good and important that he could understand what I say. He has an excellent body language and every mid-pitch communication we had was about getting the partnership deeper. I am happy for the way he has performed so far. He fielded well and got a run-out and later came back to take a wicket,” the 30-year-old added. 

Ashwin said he wasn’t surprised at the wat Joe Root got out after trying to go over the top. “Root’s wicket was a massive one. He had already jabbed at one (ball), one went through the gate and he almost nicked one to short leg. We expected him to play that shot and put a mid-on and he fell for the trap,” Ashwin added.