“I haven’t seen Rahul Dravid exult like that” - R Ashwin recalls historic moment from 2022 T20 World Cup

Ravichandran Ashwin, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, recalled a historic moment from India's clash against Pakistan during the 2022 T20 World Cup. The all-rounder spoke about India's former coach Rahul Dravid.

Speaking on the Sky Cricket Podcast, Ashwin recalled the moment when he made Dravid exult with his ability to think on his feet. The 38-year-old was talking about the moment when India needed two runs off the final ball in the run chase in Melbourne. Mohammad Nawaz, who was bowling the final over, bowled one down the leg side to Ashwin.

Rather than trying to guide it away for runs, he stood his ground and let the ball go to the wicketkeeper, as it was eventually declared a wide. Not only did India get an extra run but also an extra ball, which allowed them to win the game in the end.

Virat Kohli, who was batting with Ashwin at the other end, was also amused at his wit when the latter let the ball pass.

“I hadn’t realized what I had done. I came back into the dressing room and I haven’t seen Rahul Dravid exult like that — I mean the second time I saw him exult was after the T20 World Cup, which we won recently. Until this moment, I hadn’t seen him exult," Ashwin said (via The Indian Express).

He recalled how Rahul Dravid appreciated what Ashwin did and how Kohli reacted from the other end.

"He (Dravid) came to me and said, ‘That’s why we had you in the squad! That’s the way you deal with this!” I didn’t quite honestly realise the magnitude of what that moment meant. I just saw the ball, and just let it go. Then it hit Rizwan and came back. I think Virat was almost celebrating. He just used his hand to say who the hell leaves a ball like that," he added.

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R Ashwin credits gully cricket skills for his witty decision to leave the ball against Pakistan

The all-rounder credited his gully cricket skills for helping him decide to let the ball go, which proved to be a smart call eventually.

“For me, gully cricket’s a huge part of my life. Even very late, probably middle of my career, I was still playing gully cricket with my friends. It brought about a happiness that I don’t think I’ve encountered anywhere else in the world. Leaving a ball on the leg side is a crucial factor for us to get a free hit because all our games they have offside runs," he said in the same discussion.

"So it is very nearly about bowling underarm into your legs since you can’t score runs on legside. So the moment you have a ball down the legside, it’s very natural for me to just flick open my hips and leave that ball. Most people would say I spent midnight oil on that, to be able to leave that ball which is not the case,” Ashwin concluded.