R Ashwin reacts to stunning catch to dismiss Daryl Mitchell: Trusted his hands

R Ashwin commented on his stunning catch to dismiss Daryl Mitchell on the second day of the Mumbai Test and said he trusted his hands to complete the attempt. Ashwin’s catch could well have been the turning point in the game as Mitchell seemed to be on the right track and ready to give New Zealand a good lead.

The incident took place on the 28th when Ravindra Jadeja was bowling and Mitchell hit a lofted shot. The New Zealand batter failed to make the right connection with Ashwin, who circled around to take the ball. The spinner would then complete the drill in stunning fashion as the crowd inside Wankhede began chanting “Ashwin, Ashwin!” Speaking to reporters after the day’s play, Ashwin said he told himself that the ball would still fly away from him, but he wanted to get as close to it as possible.

India vs New Zealand 3rd Test Day 2: Highlights | Scorecard

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

Ashwin will be back in the wicket column with 3 in the second innings after going wicketless in the first. The spinner used his patented Carrom ball to dismiss Glenn Phillips and the well-prepared Will Young on the day.

Ashwin said the other side behaved differently than they did at the end of the pavilion and so he decided to mix things up a bit.

“The game itself is divided into two halves. The one on the pavilion side and the other side, the gate reacts completely differently. It’s a little flatter than where we bowl on the dressing room side, there’s a lot less bounce, so I thought I’d try it in a different way. The batters also know that I am easier to beat from this side, so I wanted to give something different,” Ashwin said.

It won’t be an easy chase

At the end of the second day, New Zealand’s lead is 143 and Ashwin hopes India can close the game quickly. The veteran spinner also said that he does not expect the chase to be easy and the hosts will have to bat well.

“Hopefully not too many, we should finish it off with one or two runs here and there. Any runs saved in this opportunity will be that much more important to us when we go after them. It won’t be easy, we need to bat really well,” Ashwin said.

New Zealand ended the day on 171 for 9 and Ashwin ended the day with figures of 3 for 63 in his 16 overs.