Sunil Gavaskar, a former captain of India and a world cup champion, praised Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin for leading India to a stunning victory over Bangladesh in the second Test on Sunday, December 25, in Dhaka. Iyer and Ashwin put on a 71-run unbroken stand to enable India to overcome Bangladesh by three wickets and go to the World Test Championship final. Gavaskar commended them for retaining composure and seizing scoring opportunities.
India easily won the first game by 188 runs under the captaincy of stand-in KL Rahul, and they were aiming for a 2-0 victory. Although they were successful in doing so, the road to victory was not without its share of difficulties. Before Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin paired up, the Bangladesh spinners controlled the final innings while the Indian hitters struggled.
Ashwin received special praise from Gavaskar, who described him as a fantastic cricketer deserving of more respect than just his bowling. “They both look utterly calm there. The tension must have been unbelievable out there. But somebody like Ashwin has been a fantastic cricketer. People only talk about his bowling but he has got five hundred and he showed how he got those. Terrific innings from him and a great partnership with Shreyas Iyer,” said Gavaskar while speaking on Sony Sports Network.
India was 45/4 at the start of the fourth day but rapidly lost three wickets in the first hour, leaving them stranded at 74/7 in their 145-run chase. The local crowd had already begun to celebrate at the prospect of a tactical victory when Iyer and Ashwin established an unbeaten stand, shattering their hopes.
“They took their scoring opportunities. They were not afraid of playing their shots, with Iyer in particular. That lofted shot over extra cover was brilliantly executed, forcing the bowler to bowl a little bit short,” Gavaskar added.
