Ashwin, who made a return to Test cricket after missing out on selection for nearly a year, once again proved why he is indispensable to India's fortunes in the longer format, picking up 8 wickets against the South Africans and contributing to India's thumping win in the Vizag Test.
Ashwin along with his spin twin Jadeja were instrumental in wrecking through the South African batting order in their first innings before seamer Mohammad Shami produces a fiery spell to demolish and hand India a thumping win.
Speaking on his stellar bowling feats, the ace off-spinner said that records and milestones do happen over a period of time, but what really is important is sticking to process every single day and keep your game as simple as possible.
Ashwin had spoken of how he struggled to cope with days when he was not part of the team. In an interview with fielding coach R Sridhar that was put up on the BCCI's website, he said that he does not aim for milestones and instead concentrates on being in the best mind space before a match.
"When it comes to my skill, I want to be as prepared as possible and try and tick all the boxes before a game. Try and be in the best possible mental space and the physical space getting into that particular match. All these are things that I play inside my head and be as prepared as possible getting into a game. But with regards to how I go about my work, how I don't want to chase anything. I want to keep it very simple. That's what I have learned over the last year."
Ashwin said that his maiden Test wicket will always hold a special place but there are a few others up there in the list. "There have been a lot of special wickets. I will just pick a few. Probably, my first Test wicket of Darren Bravo will always be special. I have dismissed David Warner a few times. But, I would say amongst the 300 I have taken so far, Warner's wicket in Bangalore on Day 2 morning is one of the special. Not to forget the AB de Villiers' wicket in Nagpur in 2015," he said.