Sports

Crowd gave me a hero's feeling every time I bowled: Ravichandran Ashwin

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday dedicated his Man-of-the-Match-winning all-round performance in the second Test against England to the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium

Sentinel Digital Desk

CHENNAI: Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday dedicated his Man-of-the-Match-winning all-round performance in the second Test against England to the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium 'Chepauk' crowd in his home city. He captured eight wickets in the match and scored a century to propel India to a 317-run win.

"I watched cricket from these very stands here in 'Chepauk' when I was eight or nine years old. My father would bring me here for any Test match and I would dream about getting a chance to walk on this ground or at least play one game," said Ashwin in Tamil in the post-match presentation ceremony. "I have played four Test matches here and easily this is the most special. What can I say...I get a hero's feeling every time I bowled. In Covid times there was no cricket, so a knowledgable Chennai crowd came in numbers. This match I dedicate to the Chennai crowd. We were 1-0 down without crowd and with the crowd we made it 1-1. There will be crowd in Ahmedabad, so hopefully we can take it forward," he said in Tamil. IANS