R Ashwin reacts to stunning catch to dismiss Daryl Mitchell: Trusting my hands

R Ashwin commented on his stunning catch when Daryl Mitchell was dismissed on Day 2 of the Mumbai Test and said he trusted his arms to complete the effort. Ashwin’s catch could well have been the turning point of the game as Mitchell seemed set on the track and ready to give New Zealand a good lead.

The incident took place on the 28th when Ravindra Jadeja was bowling and Mitchell went for a high shot. The New Zealand batsman failed to connect properly with Ashwin, who circled around to take the catch. The spinner then completed the effort in stunning fashion as the Wankhede crowd started chanting “Ashwin, Ashwin!” Speaking to broadcasters after the game, Ashwin said that he told himself that the ball would still leave him, but he wanted to get as close to it as possible.

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“I was just telling myself that it was going to leave me anyway, I wanted to get as close to the ball as I could and I have great hands so I trusted my hands to do that,” Ashwin said.

Ashwin returned to the wicket column as he took 3 in the second innings after going wicketless in the first. The spinner used his patented carrom ball to dismiss Glenn Phillips and a well-rounded Will Young that day.

Ashwin said the other side was acting differently from the pavilion end and so he decided to mix it up a bit.

“The game itself is split into two halves. One from the pavilion end and the other side, the wicket reacts very differently. It’s a bit flatter than where we bowl from the dressing room side, there’s a lot less bounce, so I thought I’d try to use it’s a different way, knowing that it’s easier for me to participate from that side, Ashwin said.

The chase will not be easy

New Zealand lead by 143 at the end of Day 2 and Ashwin hopes India can wrap things up quickly. The veteran spinner also said that he does not expect the chase to be easy and the hosts will need to bat well.

“Hopefully not too much, we’ve got to wrap it up with a run or two here and there. Any runs saved in this innings will be that much more important for us as we chase this down. It will not be easy, we will have to bat very well,” said Ashwin.

New Zealand ended the day at 171 for 9, with Ashwin ending the day with figures of 3 for 63 in his 16 overs.