Man of the series feels the 3-0 win over South Africa is the start of a 'wonderful journey' for the current Test team and the series sweep against the No 1 side will help them improve on their dismal overseas record
India players applaud as R Ashwin receives his fifth man-of-the-series award in Tests at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi yesterday
New Delhi: India's star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels the 3-0 win over South Africa is the start of a 'wonderful journey' for the current Test team and the series sweep against the No 1 side will help them improve on their dismal overseas record.
India players applaud as R Ashwin receives his fifth man-of-the-series award in Tests at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi yesterday. Pic/PTI
"When we got that last wicket, we could not express ourselves. It was amazing! Everybody was hugging each other and we don't even remember what we were all doing out there. Having beaten a team like South Africa, we have set on a wonderful journey," said Ashwin, who was named man of the series for a record fifth time courtesy his 31 wickets in the four-match series.
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'Better days ahead'
"I am sure our better days as a team are ahead of us. We will tour overseas soon and I am very hopeful that we will be on the right track there as well. I want to congratulate all the boys who have been on this journey with me. To get another man of the series award — I was craving for it, but I didn't know it will come so soon again, after Sri Lanka," he was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.
South Africa played with dogged resistance for the first time in the series, scoring 143 in their second innings in 143.1 overs. The marathon effort however was not enough to prevent a clean sweep. Ashwin credited South African batsmen for making life tougher for the hosts.
"First things first, you have got to give credit where it is due. They shut shop and showed a lot of discipline. But while they were defending everything, the defence wasn't that great. If there was a bit more bounce or fizz in the wicket, we might have had an edge here and there. Having said that, they assessed the conditions very well; they were very dogged in their defence."
31
Number of wickets claimed by R Ashwin in the just concluded series vs South Africa at an average of 11.12
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