Centurion, Jan 14 - Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was delighted after his three wickets helped India reduce South Africa to 269\/6 in their first innings on the first day of the second Test match here on Saturday.
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\r\nAiden Markram (94) and Hashim Amla (82) threatened India with signs of a prospective big total. But India's bowling unit, spearheaded by Ashwin (3\/90), took four wickets in the final session to show the team's intent of making a strong comeback after the defeat in the opening Test in Cape Town.
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\r\nThe Tamil Nadu tweaker accounted for openers Markram and Dean Algar (31) and Quinton de Kock (0) to peg the hosts back. Hardik Pandya then effected two run-outs of Amla and Vernon Philander as India came back strongly into the game.
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\r\n"I like to think I have kept us in the game. It could have so easily been a game where they could have run away with it after the second session. I like to believe I was just dogged enough," Ashwin said at the post-match press conference.
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\r\n"Within my mind, this was probably one of the relaxed days of my cricket career. I wasn't really thinking too much and delivering the ball. My only intent was to try and keep it in a particular spot. Try and deliver from different positions in the crease, and I was really enjoying it," he added.
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\r\n"Those wickets in the last session are valid incentive for us going into the Day 2. It was due to extraordinary work from Hardik. New ball is not doing a lot actually. If those two batsmen walked out tomorrow morning, it would have been tougher for us."
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\r\nAshwin revealed that the team was thinking of going with an all-seam attack having seen the wicket two days before the match started. But the curator reduced the greenish part of the wicket, giving Ashwin the chance to play the match.
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\r\n"Two days from the game it looked like we are going to play an all-seam attack. And then when we walked into the ground yesterday, it was white in colour and the grass was coming off," Ashwin said.
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\r\n"All of a sudden I really had to pull myself back and think I am in the game now. Today morning when we came to the ground, it looked like a wicket that was really flat and had to have a spinner in the game. I am happy with the wicket."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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