Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin admitted that he was feeling jet lagged and was not performing at his best in the nets at the conclusion of Day 1 of the match between the West Indies and India in Dominica.
He continued by stating that not much had changed from the first practice session and that it was difficult for him to acclimate to the surroundings.
The 36-year-old began working on cement wickets to get his arm speed back to normal after noting some minor details. The Chennai-born cricketer acknowledged that all these issues could occur following a lengthy trip, but he ultimately tried his best to avoid them as Ashwin eventually selected his 33rd five-wicket haul to destroy the home team in the first innings.
I arrived in Barbados feeling a little jet-lagged from traveling from the TNPL. I considered the body position on the crease, arm speed, and shoulder to be less than ideal. While the nets were in good shape the first day we played in Barbados on the practice court, my overall health was not good. I completed an additional 8 to 10 overs the next day; that was marginally better.
“So, I just felt that with the jet lag and the amount of workload, my shoulder rotational speed, the body going into the ball, all these things take a certain amount of time, and what happens is that sometimes when you are playing on really slow and turning surfaces, you don’t know how much you really need to impart on the ball,” the author said. Therefore, I always practice on a surface like concrete, cement, or artificial turf where I don’t really need to muscle the ball. Ashwin stated towards the conclusion of the day’s play, “I just have to release the ball beautifully and I know that’s my sweet spot.
How does one overcome jet lag, adapts to the bowling conditions and executes it to perfection?
Bowling on cement surfaces, says @ashwinravi99 😎
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Notably, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin opening up on overcoming jet lag, adapting to Caribbean conditions and bowling five wickets, India was able to limit the West Indies to just 150 runs and is currently 70 runs behind the hosts after Day 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma got off to a flawless start with the bat, and they’ll be trying to keep it up to put the West Indies under pressure.
Notably, thanks to Ashwin’s five wickets, India was able to limit the West Indies to just 150 runs and is currently 70 runs behind the hosts after Day 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma got off to a flawless start with the bat, and they’ll be trying to keep it up to put the West Indies under pressure.