The 34-year-old couldn’t have asked for better returns as he scored 119 runs and picked up eight wickets through the course of the match. His show at Chepauk included a ton and a five-wicket haul, with both milestones getting huge cheers from the crowd. 

And, Ashwin was unsurprisingly chuffed with what he managed to do. “Keeping intent was very important. You need to put the pressure on the bowlers. If you allow them to dictate terms, it will get easier for them. So, I wanted to take it upon myself. Once I connected the first few balls, I realised that I had the hang of the wicket. Things then got easier for me,” said Ashwin, who struck 106 in the second innings to help India set England a huge target.

“If I can’t express here, where am I going to? The joy is coming out and hence the bowling is coming the way it is. I am extremely happy that I got a hundred and a five-for in Chennai,” added Ashwin, whose five-wicket haul in the first essay reduced England to a paltry 134.