‘Ashwin thinks like a batsman while bowling’

Ashwin, who completed a milestone of fastest 250 Test wickets bowled much better in the second innings which Pujara attributed to a different role of a “restrictive bowler” that he essayed in the first innings of Bangladesh. “Probably, he (Ashwin) is the toughest spinner when it comes to any opposition team. The teams now plan on how they are going to face Ashwin. I would like to congratulate him for reaching 250 wickets. The kind of brain he has, he thinks as a batsman, what are his weaknesses and areas he needs to bowl. I think it’s his experience that makes him one of the strike bowlers in this team,” Pujara said. 

In the first innings, Ashwin went for nearly 100 runs getting two wickets but Pujara said that he was given a restrictive role. “He (Ashwin) understands that there are situations where he has to bowl tightly. If you look at first innings, he tried his best. He bowled to a plan. There might be some occasions, he can’t get wickets. We bowl as a unit, we bowl in partnerships, most of the times. Sometimes Ashwin has to play the role of holding the batsman and he did that in the first innings,” Pujara added.