R Ashwin's response to this tricky 'what if' question on thriller vs Pak is a must watch

Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin recently explained what he would have done had Mohammad Nawaz's final delivery turned and struck him in the pads during their T20 World Cup match against Pakistan. In an interview with BCCI, Ashwin jokingly claimed he would have left the game immediately and logged onto Twitter to announce his retirement from the sport.

However, Ashwin got lucky as he received a wide delivery from Nawaz, to which he shouldered arms and collected one run. India eventually defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets to win the nail-biting thriller at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

"Somebody asked me if that Nawaz ball had turned and hit you on the pads, what would you have done?. I said I would've quickly rushed to the dressing room picked up my Twitter and said 'Thank you for all the great times I have had in my cricketing career. It was a wonderful journey," Ashwin told BCCI.

Ashwin's iconic leave

Speaking about his iconic leave, Ashwin claimed that the only thought going through his head at the time was to see the ball and place it into an open space. In addition, Ashwin acknowledged that when he came to bat after Dinesh Karthik's dismissal, he cursed the wicketkeeper-batter. Ashwin said as soon as he got the run of that wide delivery, he was so happy because he knew no one will throw stones at his home. 

"As I walked in to bat, I cursed Dinesh Karthik for a second and then later thought, ‘No no, we still have time, let us do what we were here for’. It seemed like I was walking for ages to get to the pitch. Then I saw Virat Kohli and he told me so many things. But I thought of only one thing after seeing him. God has given you so much today. So how will he ever let me down? So at least for you, won’t let me get these runs?” See the ball, then place it in a vacant space and just run, this is what I thought to myself," Ashwin had said after the match against Pakistan. 

"As soon as I got that run, I was so happy. Now, no one will throw any stones at my home! (Laughs) If I can lift the ball and place it somewhere, it will be good. I thought God has made this guy smash Haris Rauf over his head for a 6 on the backfoot and over the square leg for another with a flick. Won’t God allow my chip over the infield in some vacant area? And thank god, it did. What a moment," he added. 

The intense final over 

As far as the final over is concerned, it began with the dismissal of well-set batsman Hardik Pandya before Virat Kohli brought India back into the match with a six off a no-ball and three runs in byes. When India required 2 runs off of 2 balls, Dinesh Karthik was sent back to the pavilion by Mohammad Nawaz, who effected a stumping on the penultimate ball. 

With India now needing 2 runs off just 1 ball, Ashwin entered the field to bat. Ashwin showed excellent game awareness by anticipating that Nawaz would go for his pads and standing still to allow the ball to pass his leg stump in order to collect one run in wide. Ashwin then lofted the final delivery over the mid-off fielder to give India the one run they needed to win the game.

Image: AP