Ashwin: Everyone has a bad day…

India all-rounder Ravi Ashwin feels the pitch at The Oval will get better for batting, so has not ruled out a recover from his team-mates with the bat, even though they fell to 148 all out on day one.

India all-rounder Ravi Ashwin feels the pitch at The Oval will get better for batting, so has not ruled out a recover from his team-mates with the bat, even though they fell to 148 all out on day one.

Day two saw England build their lead, with Joe Root nearing a century by the end of the day, and Ashwin felt this was a good sign for his own batsmen, and they were determined to do better when they had a go with the bat again.

Ashwin said after stumps on Saturday, with England leading by 237 runs: "The sun came out today and the pitch had flattened out a bit today. We toiled through the day and gave our best.

"It is about confidence at the end of the day and also enjoying the game we all love so much.

"So, we were talking in the field today that we can do a better job in the second innings. Everybody has a bad day."

One of the 'bad' aspects of the day for India was their catching, with Alastair Cook put down twice in the slips, but Ashwin said they needed to get their confidence in the cordon back up.

He said: "Confidence is the keyword here. As you catch more and more, you get confident. When you drop one, you feel horrible. [Murali] Vijay put one down and then he caught one and he was so happy, that he almost wanted to throw the ball up.

"So we are working hard at slip catching and we are trying different options there. As a young team, we are working at addressing this."

Ashwin was decent with the ball on the day, taking two wickets, and felt that he'd done a lot of hard work early in the series when he was out of the playing side, as well as constantly looking for areas to improve.

He added: "While I was out of the playing eleven, I have worked on my action a bit more. I am trying to get more side-on. I also try and stay as balanced as possible and have been working at these small details.

"I try to be the best possible cricketer I can. I got a good spell in today, though I did not really start too well. I felt like I was slipping and then I came back in the lunch break.

"I looked at the videos and took some feedback on what I could be doing wrong and the speeds I bowled out there."

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