Ashwin-Jadeja: A lethal duo with both bat & ball

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been brilliant for India with bat as well as ball in Tests; A comparative analysis.

Just like pacers hunt in pairs, spinners do the same. India’s all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have been the spin duo that complements each other brilliantly. They again came together with the bat and ball in the Chennai Test to beat Bangladesh by 280 runs. The all-rounders have been the architects of many of India’s victories with both bat and ball in the longest version of the game. And when the two perform in unison, they create the path for India’s success in the longest format. For the record, Ashwin took 6 wickets and scored a ton, while Jadeja made a fifty and took five wickets in the Chennai Test.

Shining stars as spin partners

Since the two came together to bowl in Tests as spin partners, India have won 39 Tests, lost just 5 and drawn 10 games out of 54. Their batting and bowling performances when they play together are nothing but extraordinary. The two have taken a combined 553 wickets in 54 Tests. On average, the duo has taken 10 wickets per Test, playing together.

The duo’s performance in victories is also exceptional whenever the two have featured together in the XI. This speaks volumes about how the two complement each other and feed off each other’s success. Overall, they have taken 496 wickets in 39 Test victories for India, with 34 hauls of five wickets or more. 

Ashwin and Jadeja form a lethal spin pair at home, taking 481 wickets in 45 home games. But unfortunately, the two have featured together in just 8 away games. Jadeja has mostly taken the lone spinner’s spot in away games due to his superior batting performances overseas. For the record, they have taken 67 wickets together in 8 away Tests.

Read More: IND vs BAN, 1st Test, Day 4: Ashwin’s 6-88 crushes Bangladesh; India win by 280 runs

What makes Ashwin-Jadeja effective as spin duo

Ravichandran Ashwin is extremely disciplined with his line and length and has a lot of tricks in his bag. He outsmarts the opposition with his variations and clever bowling. He also sets up batters, making the ball move away slightly after bowling a few into them. It is his smart bowling that helps Ashwin get the better of the opposition batters. 

Jadeja is a clever spinner who keeps the batters guessing which way the ball will move—will it move away or straighten up to a right-handed batter—using the same bowling action. Jadeja is also difficult to score off as he keeps a nagging line and length. He also finishes off his over quickly, giving little room for the opposition to keep up or change momentum.

So, when the two bowl in tandem, the opposition batters have no respite as both the spinners are attacking bowlers, always looking to prize out wickets. Hence, their success as the star spin duo is no surprise. 

Jadeja scores over Ashwin as a batter

Ravindra Jadeja scores over Ashwin when it comes to batting together. While the former averages close to 40, Ashwin averages in the mid-25s. Overall in Tests, Jadeja edges Ashwin with the willow, thus explaining why the southpaw gets precedence in batting positions or away games over the off-spinner. He adds depth to the XI and also contains the opposition on pace-friendly conditions. But the two have done well together as batters, featuring in the same Tests for India. They have over 1500 runs each in Tests whenever the two have featured together in the playing XI.

Overall Batting Numbers

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In terms of their contributions with the bat in Test victories when both are in the XI, Jadeja beats Ashwin by a better margin. The former averages 46.78 compared to the latter’s 27.30. But both have aggregated over 1000 runs when batting together in Tests.

In terms of batting together in home Tests, Jadeja also moves ahead of Ashwin, averaging 40.63 compared to the off-spinner’s 22.82. Nevertheless, both aggregate over 1000 runs in home Tests together, complementing each other with the bat as well.

Jadeja steals the show with bat among two ‘proven’ batters

Ashwin’s inconsistency with the bat has cost him a place in the XI in away matches as the team management prefers the southpaw, who is equipped with better batting records. But in the Chennai Test, Ashwin stole the thunder from Jadeja with both bat and ball. Overall, the two batters complement better in the spin department than in batting. But they are equally dependable batters, especially when the chips are down. 

The way ahead

The spin duo has a couple of seasons left in them before they hang up their boots. But over a decade or so, their combined performances with the bat and ball would be counted as one of the golden periods of Indian cricket history. Both have been extremely competitive with bat and ball. Once Rohit Sharma said both Jadeja and Ashwin are always looking to get the ball to take wickets. It’s no surprise that the duo has dominated the ICC bowler and all-rounder’s rankings. India might feel a transition in the spin department will be just around the corner, but they are aware that they will have big boots to fill once Ashwin and Jadeja call it a day. 

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