'India can't form a Test playing XI at home without...': Ex-Pakistan star's big take on Rohit Sharma's men's big win
Kamran Akmal hailed R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's partnership during the India vs Bangladesh first Test match.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were in dominant form as India defeated Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai, on Sunday. The duo built a 199-run partnership in the first innings, where Ashwin also hammered a century. Then in the second innings, they took a total of nine wickets.
In the first innings, Jadeja perfectly complemented Ashwin and smacked a stunning 86-run knock.
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What did Kamran Akmal say?
Hailing the pair's performance, former Pakistan player Kamran Akmal called it a match-winning partnership. "What an all-round performance from Ashwin. He took six wickets in the second innings and scored a century. It was a match-winning partnership from Jaddu. Without these two players, India can't form a Test playing XI at home. They are big performers," he said.
Akmal also hailed Rishabh Pant for his stunning century in the second innings and congratulated BCCI's medical team. Pant registered 39 in the first innings, and then his sixth Test ton in the second innings.
"It was an incredible performance from Pant. I salute the medical panel and the trainer who brought him back to the field," he said.
In the first innings, India were 144/6 at one point, but then Ashwin and Jadeja's rescue act saw them post 376. In response Bangladesh were bowled out for 149, due to a Jasprit Bumrah four-wicket haul. Then the hosts didn't enforce a follow-on. In the second innings, hundreds from Pant and Shubman Gill saw India reach a huge 500-plus target. Chasing a huge target, Bangladesh crumbled for 234.
After the match, Ashwin also praised Jadeja. He said, "He's been a very inspirational story. Many of these occasions over the last 3-4 years, when he's walked in to bat, I feel so calm and composed in the dressing room. It’s such an inspirational story about how he's found his off-stump, how he's contributed."
