Chennai: Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are near-unplayable on Indian pitches, but their ability to pull off crucial rearguard actions that deepen India’s batting lineup is often underappreciated. On Thursday, Ashwin once again showcased his affinity for Chennai, scoring a commanding hundred and forming an unbeaten 195-run partnership with Jadeja that rescued India from a precarious position. With much work still ahead, India stands at a promising 339/6 after Ashwin and Jadeja batted together for nearly three hours, facing 227 deliveries.

India’s top-order crumbled early, reduced to 34/3 within the first hour and then to 144/6 in the second session. The batting lineup faltered against seamer Hasan Mahmud, who exploited the conditions brilliantly, moving the ball both ways. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli all edged behind. Rishabh Pant, returning to Test cricket after nearly two years, managed to contribute a brisk 39 by standing out of the crease and playing aggressively before edging a delivery from Mahmud, who finished the day with figures of 4/58.

Ashwin entered the fray and immediately looked comfortable, driving Nahid Rana through backward point for a boundary. This marked the beginning of Bangladesh’s loss of control as their bowlers started leaking runs. Despite this, India continued to offer chances. Yashasvi Jaiswal crafted a solid fifty before being dismissed by Rana with a 148.6 kph delivery. Shortly after, KL Rahul, who had been batting with calm composure, was brilliantly caught by Zakir Hasan at short leg, leaving India in a difficult situation.

Ashwin and Jadeja found themselves in familiar territory—six wickets down with the innings in jeopardy. This time, however, Ashwin adopted a more aggressive approach. Echoing his performance in Chennai 2021, where he reached fifty in 64 balls and took another 70 to complete his century, Ashwin accelerated his scoring rate, reaching his hundred in just 108 balls by playing shots all around the park and accumulating 36 runs in the midwicket area alone.

“It helps that I have come back from a T20 tournament (TNPL) where I worked quite a bit on my batting,” Ashwin remarked post-match. “I’ve always tended to wave my bat outside off-stump. On a surface like this with some spice, if you’re going after the ball, you might as well go hard like Rishabh (Pant) does.” This approach was evident when Ashwin ramped Rana over the slip cordon for an audacious boundary.

Not all of Ashwin’s shots were improvisational. His backfoot play was masterful as he consistently found boundaries through cover and point. As the pitch eased up, he had no trouble farming the strike, though boundaries primarily came off spinners. The tone was set early when Jaiswal attacked Mehidy Hasan Miraz in his first over, hitting him through covers and sweeping for consecutive boundaries. Ashwin elevated this aggression by sweeping Shakib Al Hasan and smashing Miraz for a six.

Jadeja also became adventurous, slogging Miraz over deep midwicket for a huge six. From there, it was a downhill slide for Bangladesh. The ball softened, but Bangladesh’s bowlers faltered further by not sticking to their lengths and misjudging catches, allowing India to solidify their position through Ashwin and Jadeja’s partnership. While Ashwin played aggressively, Jadeja provided balance with a composed fifty.

“There was a point when I was sweating profusely and feeling fatigued; Jaddu noticed and guided me through that phase,” Ashwin said. “Jaddu has been one of our best batters in recent years. His presence was reassuring, and his advice about not converting twos into threes was invaluable.”

Ashwin compensated by hitting more boundary shots, much to Chepauk’s delight as he celebrated his sixth career century—his third at this venue. His Test average at Chepauk is double his overall average, with more than a tenth of his career boundaries coming in just eight innings here, illustrating how home advantage can significantly impact individual performance.

With Ashwin and Jadeja unbeaten, India is poised to exploit the new ball on the second day. This prospect doesn’t bode well for Bangladesh, who have surpassed 350 only once in their previous six innings in India.