India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is never the one to mince his words when it comes to cricketing matters and the same was expected when he spoke on Pakistan’s recent defeat in their Test match against Bangladesh.
Ravichandran Ashwin Gives Strong Critique On Pakistan’s Loss
Pakistan did face an upset on Day 5 of the first Test at Rawalpindi as it was for the first time that they lost a Test match against Bangladesh. With the game still on, Pakistan captain Shan Masood declared the first innings at 448 runs after losing just six wickets. Bangladesh struggled past that total on a flat pitch, before Pakistan’s batting folded in the second innings. Ashwin said he was absolutely surprised by the way things transpired.
“Teams don’t surrender on a pitch like this. In first-class cricket, strong teams will bat first and hit big,” said Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel.
“When I saw the highlights of the match, I understood that it was a proper, tiring collapse on the final day. I haven’t seen that for a long time,” Ashwin admitted.
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Ashwin was shocked to see how early the Pakistan batters got out without forming any solid partnership to sustain through the innings. Ashwin gave his critique on Pakistan’s lower order.
“In the end, when Mohammad Rizwan was staging a fight, Naseem Shah played a shot and got out cheaply. I did not understand what happened. There was nothing on the pitch,” Ashwin said.
‘Test Cricket In Pakistan Will Be Destroyed’ Says Prasanna Raman
Rizwan was the only saviour of Pakistan’s batting throughout the match. His knock of 171 when Pakistan declared in the first innings, and a battling 51 amidst difficult circumstances in the second innings. He outshone everyone in Pakistan’s batting lineup.
Former South Africa performance analyst Prasanna Raman, known by the moniker ‘PDogg’, who usually joins Ashwin for his videos, also gave his critique.
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“Bangladesh have no mystery spinners or wrist spinners. There is no threat. If you can’t bat for four sessions on a pitch like that at home, it can mean only one thing. Division 1 and Division 2 cricket needs to be brought in. Otherwise, Test cricket in Pakistan will be destroyed,” said Raman.
Pakistan will be playing their second Test against Bangladesh on August 30, at Rawalpindi.
