'My friend Pujara just let it go, he said...': Ashwin reveals conversation that led to him batting at No. 3

With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy having begun, India were in dominant form and emerged glorious in the first Test match, winning by an innings and 132 runs at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, on Saturday. Australia were outplayed in all departments and were bowled out for 91 runs in their second innings within a session for a score which is also their second lowest Test cricket total against India. Ravichandran Ashwin was in hot form and bagged a five-wicket haul to end the Australian second innings. Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets, to follow up on his five-wicket haul from the first innings.

The match also saw Ashwin come in as a nightwatchman, to bat at no. 3 during the first innings. He played a crucial role to help India find their way through a nervous patch on Day 1 after opener KL Rahul was sent back to the pavilion, losing his wicket to debutant spinner Todd Murphy. Coming in to bat late, he showed calmness to keep his side intact with captain Rohit Sharma.

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Speaking during the post-match ceremony, the veteran spinner opened up about his batting role and thanked Cheteshwar Pujara for giving him the opportunity. "Ahh... I wanted to get out there and bat. I was suffocated sitting inside the dressing room for hours and hours. I really look forward to going out there and batting. I am getting into good positions. If and when there's an opportunity, I am always ready. Knowing Puji, I think it's going to happen,” he said.

"And I asked Pujara whether he wanted a cover through a night watchman, and he said yes with 20 minutes left in the day", he further added.

Speaking about his bowling display, he said, "The wicket was on the slower side. So you want them to be driving. Hence I bowled on full-lengths. I was challenging the outside edge and, at the same time, the change-ups, challenging the other half of the edge as well. I have many variations but didn't try much here.”

During his knock, Ashwin registered 23 runs off 62 balls, packed with two fours and a six. Day 2 also saw Rohit grab a century, setting a new Indian record by becoming the first captain from the country to slam a hundred across all three formats in international cricket.