Good to be among wickets, says Ashwin

R Ashwin has been one of India’s finest performers with the ball in the World Cup so far. With eight wickets from three matches, he has been India’s most successful bowler and the off-spinner is obviously pleased with his returns.

“It is quite heartening to get wickets,” Ashwin said on Thursday. “It is always good to be amongst wickets and perform well. It gives you a lot of confidence. But in terms of preparation for the game, it's going to be the same. Because we prepare for every other team like we prepare for the big teams. It's not going to be very different. We're pretty confident about executing (our plans) tomorrow,” he remarked.

Ashwin said he enjoyed the challenge of bowling to attacking batsmen like Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. “It's not just Chris Gayle, it's any other batsman in world cricket,” he said when asked if plans anything before bowling to the West Indian. “Anybody who attacks, wants to put you off your hook, it's similar. I'm content to look at the wicket and I go strongly for getting wickets of any batsman that I think is dangerous because I like it. I like to throw myself in the middle and try to see how much I can make an impact in that particular game. Be it Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers or anybody.

“I look to get them out in the middle. Once you get them out, the game is going to clear the way. No particular plans. I mean, it's pretty simple. You've got to restrict the hitting to one side of the ground because you have three fielders and maximise those particular three fielders and try to see how much you can restrict the hitting to that side. If there are pockets that open up and there are times you feel you can attack, and batting power play is a very good time to attack because you don't get a lot of singles. It's pretty much about boundaries and wickets, and you can restrict the hitting to one side and see if you can get a wicket or two,” he explained.

Though India are on top of the group with three wins in a row, Ashwin stressed on the importance to keep the focus going. “There are three more games and Ireland's also played good cricket,” he noted. “We're pretty aware of what's happening around us in the group. It's very important that we take it one game at a time. It's not just even going into the quarters and semis. It's going to be the biggest game that's going to get you through to the final, semis or whatever it is. We like to treat every game like it's a knockout game so that it propels us in a good state,” said Ashwin.