India vs Bangladesh 1st Test: R Ashwin hits his fastest Test century

Ashwin surpasses his previous best record of 117 balls made against West Indies in 2011

India's star bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin made a special record in the first Test against Bangladesh, playing on his home ground in Chennai on Thursday. Ashwin scored a century in just 108 deliveries, surpassing his previous best of 117 balls against the West Indies in 2011.

Ashwin came out to bat with India reeling at 144 for 6 in the first innings and took the attack straight to the Bangladeshi bowlers to secure his sixth international Test century and help India end day one on a high.

Check India vs Bangladesh 1st Test Day 4 LIVE SCORE UPDATES and full scorecard here

 

Ashwin was in attacking mode right from the start and took both spinners and pacers out of the park to get his fastest century in Test cricket. His previous fastest century came at Wankhede, Mumbai in 2011 against the West Indies, followed by a 134-ball century against England in 2013 on the same Chennai pitch, and a 159-ball century against the West Indies in 2013 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Fastest Test centuries by Ashwin

Fastest Test century by Ashwin
Balls	Opponents	Venue	Year
108	Bangladesh	Chennai	2024
117	West Indies	Mumbai	2011
134	England	Chennai	2021
159	West Indies	Kolkata	2013

With his century against Bangladesh, Ashwin also became the batter with the second most centuries while batting at number 8 or below in Test cricket. Ashwin, who now has four centuries while batting at number 8 or below, is only behind New Zealand veteran Daniel Vettori, who has five centuries while batting that low.

Most centuries while batting at number 8 or below in Test

Player	Country	100s
Daniel Vittori	New Zealand	5
Ravichandran Ashwin	India	4
Kamran Akmal	Pakistan	3
Jason Holder	West Indies	3

The pitch is still damp underneath: Ashwin

In the post-day conference, Ashwin emphasised the importance of the pitch in his batting, saying that it was a typical Chennai pitch, with some bounce, and if you want to be behind the ball, you have to go hard like Rishabh Pant to get the upper hand. He also said that the red soil of the pitch allows you to go behind the ball if you are ready to hit it outside the ground.

On how the pitch will behave in the coming days, he said, “It's a typical, old-fashioned Chennai pitch where overspin will fetch a bit of bounce. The wicket will start doing its tricks much later in the game. There's enough in it for the quicks, good carry, good bounce if we present the seam nice and hard. The new ball will do a bit, there'll be some help for the bowlers. We'll have to start afresh tomorrow. There's a bit in the pitch, it's still damp underneath, so hopefully, as it dries out, it quickens up.”

Partnership with Jadeja

Ashwin, who ended the day with 102 not out off 112 balls, added 195 unbeaten runs with Ravindra Jadeja, who also scored 86 not out off 117 balls to get India out of a precarious position of 144 for 6, ending the day on 339 for 6. During the post-day presentation, Ashwin said, “He (Jadeja) was of real help; there was a point in time when I was really sweating and getting a bit tired. Jaddu noticed it quickly and guided me through that phase. Jaddu has been one of our best batters for our team in the last few years. Him being there, pretty solid, and he was also very helpful in terms of telling me that we don't have to convert twos into threes, which was really helpful for me.”

Ashwin and Jadeja have put India in the driver's seat and will look to extend the lead on day two to push Bangladesh out of the match early.