Ravichandran Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner, and former Australia skipper Tim Paine exchanged a few verbal blows during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. In the docu-series ‘Bandon mein tha dum’, Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed the story behind the comments he had made for Tim Paine.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia in 2020-21 turned out to be historic from the tourist India’s point of view. Be it India’s resurrection from the 36-all-out embarrassment at Adelaide, Rishabh Pant’s counter-attacking batting, or epic triumph at the Gabba (Australia hadn’t lost there since 1988-89), there were many episodes that will be etched in the minds of cricket lovers for a long time.
Ravichandran Ashwin Recalls Verbal Sledging With Tim Paine During 2020/21 Australia Tour
While the performances of certain Indian players were top-notch, there were a few verbal battles too that made headlines. One of those was between Ravichandran Ashwin and Tim Paine. It all started when Tim Paine told Ravichandran Ashwin that he “can’t wait to get him to the Gabba”. In response, Ravichandran Ashwin said that he “can’t wait to take him to India which would be his last series”.
In the documentary series “Bandon Mein Tha Dum” for Voot, Ravichandran Ashwin narrated the story behind the entire episode from the third Test.
“I think Vihari will remember why I said that as well. Because we had a discussion on the way Tim Paine was batting through the series. I kept telling these guys and we got a very different sort of a short leg position, which was forward short leg, and then we usually have a leg slip. We had a chat… Rahane, myself, Vihari, and we said, ‘Pujara will generally stand at leg slip but this guy won’t stand with the helmet. Let’s put him somewhere else and get this guy under the lid’,” Ashwin said during the trailer launch of the docu-series.
“We had this conversation and parked him there in a very awkward position and he (Paine) actually nicked off there. We had a celebration and I told Vihari, ‘This guy better not come to India. If he actually comes to India, he will be going there every single time. At the end of the day, he was having a go at us when we were batting and it just came out of my mind because we had a conversation like that. It was very instantaneous,” he further added.
The exchange between Ravichandran Ashwin and Tim Paine was among the highlights of India’s series triumph on the foreign turf. The seasoned tweaker, who was India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the series with 12 wickets in three games, revealed the story behind his banter with the opposition skipper.
In the second game of the series at Melbourne, Tim Paine nudged it to Hanuma Vihari at backward short leg, with Ravichandran Ashwin getting the ball to dip and turn in the first innings in the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Tim Paine tried to sledge Ravichandran Ashwin and get into his nerves in the subsequent Test in Sydney.
Ravichandran Ashwin Reveals Tim Paine Continued Sledging During 3rd Sydney Test
During Ravichandran Ashwin-Hanuma Vihari’s unbroken 62-run sixth-wicket stand, keeper-captain Tim Paine tried to distract the wily spin all-rounder as the hosts were eyeing a win in defense of 407. The two Indian batters had joined in with the score 272-5 and, hence, had more than a session to play for a draw.
He said: “Are you a selector here as well?”“At least my teammates like me, d**khead. I’ve got a lot more Indian friends than you do. “Even your teammates think you’re a goose. Don’t they? Every one of them,” he continued.
Ravichandran Ashwin had responded saying: “Tell me when you’re done,” he said. “I’ll talk all day, mate. Wait until you get to the Gabba, pal,” Tim Paine responded.
Together with Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin produced an incredible blockathon to draw the 3rd Sydney Test and take the series into Brisbane for the decider. The heroics of the Indian team from the tour are still celebrated by the lovers of the game in the country.
Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the heroes for India on the day apart from Hanuma Vihari. The duo forged a 62-run unbroken partnership for the 6th wicket as India scored 334/5 chasing 407 for an improbable win.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who scored 39, and Hanuma Vihari who scored 23 batted with incredible grit and determination to keep the Australian bowlers at bay. Both remained unbeaten. Hanuma Vihari suffered a hamstring injury and was unable to run much especially facing difficulty in taking quick singles and that took away any chance of India chasing down the total.