New Delhi: While cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari shared a match-saving partnership that enabled the Indian cricket team to draw the Test match against Australia in Sydney Monday, Ashwin also received vociferous support from his partner in real life — wife Prithi Ashwin — on social media.
Both Ashwin and Vihari were injured during their 42-over knock that saved the match, Vihari had sustained a hamstring injury earlier in the day while Ashwin was nursing a bad back from the night before.
To help people appreciate the circumstances her husband was battling, Prithi took to Twitter to say, “The man went to bed last night with a terrible back tweak and in unbelievable pain. He could not stand up straight when he woke up this morning. Could not bend down to tie his shoe laces. I am amazed at what @ashwinravi99 pulled off today.”
The man went to bed last night with a terrible back tweak and in unbelievable pain. He could not stand up straight when he woke up this morning. Could not bend down to tie his shoe laces. I am amazed at what @ashwinravi99 pulled off today.
— Prithi Ashwin (@prithinarayanan) January 11, 2021
After the match was saved, and Ashwin was safely back in the pavilion, he took to Twitter to thank his wife for her constant support: “Instant tears!! Thanks for being there with me through all this’’.
Instant tears!! ?Thanks for being there with me through all this?? https://t.co/aauA4Bg7Dy
— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) January 11, 2021
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Constant Twitter support from Prithi
Ashwin wasn’t just battling a bad back on the cricket pitch, he also had to endure a bout of sledging by Australian wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
Paine told Ashwin, while the latter was batting, “Can’t wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash,” referring to India’s reluctance to travel to Brisbane for the fourth Test because of the strict quarantine rules in the city.
To this, Ashwin responded: “Just like we wanna get you to India, may be your last series.”
Paine continued the aggression and said, “Even your teammates think you’re a goose. Don’t they? Every one of them. How many IPL teams wanted you, when you asked every single one of them to have you?”
To add insult to injury, the Australian captain added an expletive for good measure.
Prithi, who was consistently tweeting throughout the match, was ever the protective wife and even gave Ashwin advice to battle sledging.
She called Paine’s comments “nasty, nasty shit” and told her husband to “keep cool”.
Prithi also had a unique piece of advice for Ashwin — treating Paine like their daughter Aadhya.
“Just imagine it is Aadhya crying nonstop at 3 am and ignore,” she tweeted.
Just imagine it is Aadhya crying nonstop at 3 am and ignore. ? https://t.co/zgw6ySjy54
— Prithi Ashwin (@prithinarayanan) January 11, 2021
Ashwin and Prithi got married in 2011 and have two daughters — Akhira and Aadhya. Her pinned tweet on Twitter is a photograph from their wedding ceremony.
Prithi joked that she was advised by her family to let him sleep the night of their wedding as he had a match the next day in Kolkata.
“…’let him sleep'(as iffffff)because he had a game the next day.But the team had hidden alarms that went off through the night.Thankfully we batted the next day,” reads her post that invited hilarious reactions with over 1,000 retweets and more than 15,000 likes so far.
This day 6 years ago,we were married and off to Kolkatta.I was advised by my kind family to "let him sleep"(as iffffff)because he had a game the next day.But the team had hidden alarms that went off through the night.Thankfully we batted the next day @ashwinravi99 #Iamchamathu ? pic.twitter.com/uWdKIZPPSp
— Prithi Ashwin (@prithinarayanan) November 13, 2017
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