Ashwin elaborated on how he felt pain at the start of his innings. His wife Prithi had earlier tweeted that he was struggling with back pain on Sunday night.
“When I went in to bat, (Nathan) Lyon was bowling. I stretched in first three-four balls, and my back was shooting through from my lower back to neck. I told him (Vihari) I should not have played that shot over the top because it completely tweak it out.
“If I gave it a break for an over, my back was getting stiff again. So I told him I will stay and keep playing because if I don’t play it stiffens up and I have to get the chest guard on.
“In the middle of a Pat Cummins spell we found ourselves in the eye of the storm. There was a bit of luck and I think we got through pretty well.”
The senior off-spinner said the way Rishabh Pant (97) attacked the Australian bowlers, it gave everybody hope that something fantastic could have been achieved.
“But nevertheless Pujara and Rishabh laid the foundation of what we were able to see through…