Ashwin-Jadeja: The dream partnership

Since 2013, India have never suffered a series defeat at home and the two spinners have more than played their role.

By taking fifteen of the 20 Australian wickets to fall in the first Test in Nagpur, the R Ashwin-Ravindra Jadeja juggernaut has again set an early marker for a home series. You wouldn’t expect anything different from a spin partnership that, at least statistically, is up there with the best in home conditions. For a country that has produced the eminent spin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan in the 1970s (usually three of the four played together), and Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the first decade of this century, it is commendable that Ashwin and Jadeja have managed to carve a compelling legacy.

India's Ravindra Jadeja, third right without cap, celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Australia's captain Pat Cummins during the third day of the first Test match(AP)

It was a decade ago, on February 22, 2013, against Australia in Chennai, that Ashwin and Jadeja first came together for a full-fledged series. Jadeja had made his debut against England in Nagpur in December 2012 alongside Ashwin, but that was the final Test of a four-match duel where India licked the wounds of a rare series defeat. By the time the Aussies visited India in February-March though, Ashwin and Jadeja facilitated an upswing in the team’s fortunes, taking 53 wickets between themselves in a 4-0 sweep. That was the beginning of a fruitful alliance that is still going strong a decade on.

Since 2013, India have lost just two Tests at home and never suffered a series defeat. In 37 Tests together at home, Ashwin has taken 217 scalps and Jadeja 179, which adds up to 396 wickets at an average well below 25. For the record, Kumble and Harbhajan took 356 wickets in 34 Tests at home.

Away from home, Ashwin and Jadeja have featured in just six Tests together and shared 45 wickets, an outcome of predominantly seamer-friendly conditions where there’s seldom room for two spinners. Though the healthy competition means one of them misses out in overseas Tests, it has fuelled both players to work on the weaker aspects of their game and blossom into the spinners they have become. “To say that I have got massive help from Jaddu would be an understatement. I am so thankful that I got a bowling partner like him,” Ashwin said after the Nagpur Test.

On Indian surfaces, of course, they work in tandem, suffocating and strangling batters with skill and accuracy. That they have played on tracks with prodigious assistance for spin has been held against them at times. But to attribute the heap of wickets – Ashwin has just crossed 450 Test scalps and Jadeja is one shy of 250 – entirely to the nature of pitches would be grossly undermining their service.

“They rank among the top bowling partnerships. You see how many Tests they have won for India,” former India left-arm spinner Maninder Singh said. “I don’t want to talk about helpful conditions. Yes, home conditions do help but they help everybody. To bowl well so consistently for so many years at a stretch is amazing.”

In Nagpur, on a track with enough help for spin but not the exaggerated kind that was predicted in the build-up, Ashwin and Jadeja showed superiority over their Aussie counterparts. They snaffled 15 wickets across the two innings in 61.5 overs. Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy needed 96 overs to take nine Indian wickets. Though Murphy exceeded expectations given that he was on Test debut and playing just his eighth first-class game, Lyon wasn’t quite up to the task. Even Axar Patel, usually deadly on turners, could pick only one wicket in 13 overs.

The key ingredient was the fuller lengths that the Ashwin-Jadeja combine hit on a more consistent basis, though aided by the indecisive footwork of the Australian batters.

“Indian pitches are a little slower. So, you have to pitch the ball up to the batter. Lyon is used to bowling on bouncy tracks in Australia, which are flatter. So, he tends to bowl a little shorter than what you need to do on Indian pitches,” Maninder said.

“Ashwin and Jadeja have done it for a long period,” said former left-arm spinner Venkatapathy Raju, who played 12 of his 28 Tests as part of a triumvirate including Kumble and Rajesh Chauhan. “They have put in a lot of hard work to be able to bowl where they want to. Whether you like them or not, they are match-winners for you. 700 wickets are not a joke,” he added.

Just like successful batting partnerships require an innate understanding, Ashwin and Jadeja have fed off each other’s strengths. Ashwin, of course, has more tricks in his playbook whereas Jadeja relies on nagging accuracy, subtle changes of pace and clever use of the crease. When both of them come together, it creates problems aplenty for the batters.

“Ashwin and Jadeja understand each other very well. They have a certain syllabus. They stay within that. It is very important to create pressure from both ends,” said Maninder. “If one of the spinners is leaking runs, it becomes easier for the batsmen. If both are miserly, you have got no release as a batter They are different in their bowling styles, but their attitude is the same.”

Unless the Australians improve drastically against spin, expect Ashwin and Jadeja to create more havoc and eye a series sweep, just like they did a decade ago.

IPL 2024