Exclusive: Ashwin's 106 reminds Vengsarkar of Gavaskar's 96 against Pakistan

Dubai - The legendary Indian batsman also praised Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill

Likening Ravichandran Ashwin’s brilliant 106 on a rank turner in Chennai to Sunil Gavaskar’s masterful 96 in his final Test innings on a batsman’s minefield against Pakistan, Dilip Vengsarkar doffed his hat to the veteran Indian spinner for his match-winning performance with the bat and the ball against England in the second Test.

Vengsarkar’s opinion carries great weight because in his own career, he built a reputation as a batsman who could score big on ‘raging turners’ after bursting onto the scene with a stupendous knock against Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna – two of the greatest spinners the game has ever seen -- in a domestic match.

During an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times following India’s 317-run win over England in the second Test, the legendary batsman shared his thoughts on India’s performance and the Chennai dustbowl.

Q. India have won the second Test comfortably. What was the key?

It was an outstanding performance from the team to win Test, especially after losing the first Test. Ashwin was outstanding with bat and ball both. He did extremely well. Of course, Rohit Sharma started it by scoring that brilliant 161 in the first innings. Rohit handled the turning deliveries very well.

Q. Ashwin got eight wickets in the Test. But it was his second innings hundred on that difficult wicket that has really left the cricket world admiring his skills as a batsman. Was it among the best innings you have seen on turning tracks?

Yeah. I saw one innings played by Sunil Gavaskar, way back in 1987 in Bangalore. That was his last Test match. I think he scored 96. It was against Imran Khan’s Pakistan team. So, yes, Ashwin’s (hundred) was also on that kind of a pitch. But we lost that (Bangalore) Test.

Q. The second Test pitch in Chennai has been slammed by several former England players..

Of course, there is an argument that the Indians have played better on the same pitch. So why couldn’t England play well on the same wicket? But personally, I prefer wickets where you see good cricket, so the public gets its money’s worth, rather than seeing batsmen struggle and close-in fielders putting pressure from the first ball itself. I would prefer wickets that would play really well in the first innings of a Test match and then they take turn. But if a spinner is bowling the first ball of the match, it doesn’t augur well for Test cricket. It’s not a good advert for Test match cricket because there has to be a right balance between bat and the ball.