Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said he is glad to be making the most of his good form, even at the age of 38, as his all-round effort helped India crush Bangladesh by 280 runs in the first Test in Chennai.
India had suffered an early jolt batting first on a lively MA Chidambaram Stadium surface, reduced to 144-6 against hostile Bangladesh pace bowling.
But the last recognised batting pair of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja pulled India out of deep trouble with a stellar 199-run stand, with the former scoring a superb 113 off just 133 balls while his partner made an enterprising 86.
It allowed India to post 376 and from there on, they did not look back. Jasprit Bumrah then helped skittle Bangladesh for 149 – with the pacer claiming 4-50 – handing the home team a massive lead which they stretched further with centuries from Rishabh Pant (109) and Shubman Gill (119 not out).
A target of 515 was never going to be achieved and India completed the formalities before lunch on the fourth day. Ashwin finished with superb figures of 6-88 in the second essay as the visitors were bowled out for 234.
It was the fourth instance of Ashwin scoring a century and picking up a five-wicket haul in the same Test. Only England great Ian Botham is ahead of him in the list with five such feats.
After the match, Ashwin said he wants to keep playing well beyond his 38 years, even as younger teammates scale back their careers.
"It's not the same like when you are 25, 26, 30 or even 35. Thirty-eight is different," he said.
"Every bit of work that you put, you have to put doubly hard to earn the right to be there. I want to play as long as I can. Whatever I am today is because of the game and what it has given me. I am deeply indebted to that."
Ashwin said his age had compelled him to reduce his strength-training regime and find other ways to keep in shape.
"I work differently on my mobility and other aspects of life," he said. "Do a bit of yoga. It's good."
While India celebrated a comprehensive win, Bangladesh were left wondering how they allowed the match to slip away on the first day.
The Tigers had recently completed a 2-0 series sweep in Pakistan but in India they confronted rivals they had not beaten in their previous 13 attempts.
India have not lost a Test series at home since 2012 and have only lost four matches in the last decade.
Captain Rohit Sharma was pleased with the strong start to a season that also includes three home Tests against New Zealand and five in Australia.
"I thought it was a great result, looking at what lies ahead for us," Rohit said.
"Yes, we've been playing after a long time but you're never out of cricket ... It was just about getting together as a group, which we did.
"We came here a week before, we had a good lead up to the test match and then we got the result that we wanted."
