India’s premier off-spinner R Ashwin said that the slow nature of the tracks in the Caribbean will pose a big challenge for the the spinners and he is ready to bowl all day during the four-match Test series against hosts West Indies.
He didn’t feature in the first warm-up match against WICB Presidents XI but is ready to return to the field in the final three-day game starting on Thursday.
“I am looking forward to the game (tomorrow). It will be challenging with the kind of heat and the wicket that are there. Watching the last game, I felt that the wickets were pretty slow. It was a bit of a challenge. I am sure I will have a long haul. I may have to bowl boring lines, chugging away all day long,” Ashwin told bcci.tv today.
Ashwin understands that patience holds key as partnerships are bound to happen on these tracks.
“It will be the first breakthrough that will be important and results will then come faster. The West Indies team looks a pretty good side with lot of all-rounders. Even during last match, we saw Mishy (Amit Mishra) bowling 15-16 overs before getting first wicket and then went onto get a few more. The bounce is not there, so boring lines needs to be bowled.”
As far as leading the pack is concerned, Ashwin says “pressure is something that I play for”.
“I take pride in being leader of the pack. There are lot of challenges and advantages. The team will look towards me to deliver and with that comes pressure. I have always maintained that pressure is something that I play for,” he added.
[source;indianexpress]
