Despite a drab draw in the final game, India clinched the series 2-0. This was the first time the visitors had won more than one game in a Test series in the Caribbean. The draw in the fourth Test, however, denied India a chance of making the final scoreline 3-0. Subsequently, they surrendered the No. 1 spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings to Pakistan, who drew the four-game Test series against England 2-2. India had been No. 1 for less than a week after displacing Australia at the top on August 17, who slipped after Sri Lanka's historic 3-0 whitewash.
"Personally I would say that I expected this kind of series," Ashwin told media on Monday (August 22). "Not necessarily one where I expected two hundreds but I knew batting contributions would be very important. I had no idea that I would be batting at No. 6 before I got here.
"But I put in the hard work without any expectations back home for a month and half, and it really paid off. Expectations are something that help you reach greater heights.
"Going forward, I think being Indian cricketers, expectations are something that you always expect and I hope I can live up to the expectations and keep winning games for the country," the 29-year-old added.
"I need to give West Indies a bit of credit. They get the top order quickly and allow me the time and opportunity. Most of the other teams give hundreds to the top order. It's a psychological thing, I reckon," he said, with a smile.
"In this Test I was trying to get a good bowl in this match because personally I enjoy my five-wicket hauls more than my hundreds. I am not just saying for the sake of it. I really do mean it. The one hundred I would really relish and put it past a five-wicket haul is the one I got in Kolkata, and probably the one in St. Lucia. It is about the context of the game rather about getting runs or taking wickets," Ashwin pointed.
However, the Chennai spinner did miss out on the 200-wicket mark in Test cricket, and also missed on becoming the joint-quickest to get there, along with Australia's Clarence Grimmette who got there in 36 Tests.
Ashwin now has 193 wickets in similar number of matches. "To be honest I wasn't close to it, just on the cusp of it. So I cannot really say how I would have felt about it. But now that's gone and is under the carpet.
"Even if I didn't achieve it, I tried and went in the pursuit of excellence. So maybe not 200, let me go for the quickest 300," Ashwin quipped.
When asked about the changes in the playing XI for this match, and the changed batting-order, Ashwin said, "There was clear communication that they wanted to play seven batsmen in terms of trying to see how the combination would go. Unfortunately we couldn't get a game. If we had got a game we would have known how we would have worked it out. But the combination doesn't really matter," he concluded.
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