 "Ashwin-Jadeja spin combo has been instrumental in India's rise to 'No. 1 Test team'")
PTI New Delhi: Spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja scalped a fi-fer each as Team India registered a victory by an innings and 53 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. It wasn't the first time, not the win of course, but the fact that the two spinners were involved in scripting another thrilling victory. And somehow, if the numbers are dug out to draw a graph, one could easily find how Team India's success on home turf have largely depended to these two spinners.
It was right after the Boxing Day Test match against Australia, in 2014 that MS Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket. Virat Kohli was announced as the new skipper of the national squad. After successful battering of Sri Lanka in an away Test, the Men in Blue found themselves in a array of home-series lined up in front of them. South Africa, was the first and the only team they faced on home turf in 2015. Anfd that was when the first instance of the death-dealing pair was witnessed. Aswhin and Jadeja combined to pick up a total of 47 wickets in 277.2 overs conceding just 442 runs, ergo their economy had stood at an impressive and applauding 1.59.
2016 had witnessed the departure of Ravi Shastri as a Team Director and the introduction of Anil Kumble as the new head coach of India. And thus began an altogether, different era in Indina cricket. West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia were the teams in line for India's year-long home season. 13 Test matches were played and India won 12 of them, losing just one, to Australia, which actually ended up breaking their unbeaten streak in the longer format of the game. And the nation had found two jewels – batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who had averaged more than 50 in the Test cricket and then the Aswhin-Jadeja combo who had scalped 153 wickets at an average of 24.14. The Tamil Nadu-based bowler had claimed 82 wickets himself, becoming the highest wicket-taking bowler in any Test season, while his partner had bagged 71, standing at position three on the list, right behind Dale Steyn (78 wickets in 2007-08 season)
Along with it, Ashwin, Jadeja combined have 11 five-wicket hauls and four ten-wicket hauls between them.The duo were in fact miles ahead of the some of the formidable ones like McGrath-MacGill (117 wicket in 1998-99 season) and Lee-Warne (114 wickets 2005-06 season). If one could actually combine the other bowling pairs, they could only average down to 35.08 with just one five-wicket haul. This implies the Indian duo gave away approximately 11 runs fewer per wicket.
Stats put forth by ESPN cricinfo revealed that the duo had bowled 59 per cent of India's total overs with their wicket-taking percentage being exactly 63.8 per cent. Not only so, off the 13 Test matches, Ashwin-Jadeja pair
After an impressive home season, Team India headed down to Sri Lanka for their first away Test series in two years. And the duo once again proved worthwhile showing that their magic just doesn't only work on home turf. In the two Tests matches played so far picked up 24 wickets with the pace combination of Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami scalping 12.
Adding to it, during the recently concluded Colombo Test, the duo became the third pair of all-rounders to notch up half-centuries and bag a fi-fer each in a Test innings. Australia's Albert Trott and George Giffen were the first to achieve the feat, during their Test match against England, back in 1895 and then England's Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan emulated the feat against the Indian side that had toured the nation back in 2011.
If you are now looking for a comparison now between the two, then don't look for. Probably even Virat Kohli, nor the selectors would indulge themselves into it. So sit back and relax, at the most you can anticipate as to whether they can actually continue with their deceptive spins on a South African track. That would of course be the highlight tour of the Indian team.
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