3 times India opened the bowling with two spinners in the first innings of a Test
The best cricket spinners in the world have historically come from India. The country has been blessed with excellent spinners in their Test setup, starting with the renowned spin quartet of Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bediin in the 1960s and 1970s, the legendary spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the 2000s, and now the world-class spin attack of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
On Asian soil, having spinners who can also bowl well with the new ball is crucial. On some pitches, the new ball is tough to manage, given the variable nature of the bounce. However, because a spin bowler must have extreme control over his line and length, it is difficult for him to be proficient with the new ball.
Here's a look at the 3 times India opened with a spinner from both ends in a Test match.
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja vs Australia, Indore 2023
India are on the back foot in the ongoing 3rd Border-Gavaskar Test against Australia at Indore. They could only put up 109 runs in the first innings as none of the batters could dig in and make a big score.
In response, the visitors finished with 156/4 at stumps on day one. After being 2-0 down due to terrible performances with the bat in the first two matches of the series, Australia have started much better in Indore.
Ashwin has often opened the bowling in Tests. He is arguably the most skilled spinner with the new ball. Jadeja accompanied him from the other end and dismissed Travis Head in just the second over of the innings.
#2 Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha v England, Mumbai 2012
Team India came into the match in Mumbai on a victorious note after winning their first match in Ahmedabad. They batted first and scored 327 runs in the first innings at the Wankhede Stadium. The pressure was on England to respond strongly if they wanted to remain in contention to win the series.
Indian captain MS Dhoni opened the bowling with a young Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. However, English openers Alastair Cook and Nick Compton tackled the spin duo extremely well.
They had a defiant opening stand of 66 runs in 31.4 overs, which set the tone for the rest of the innings and the series. India lost the match by 10 wickets and the series 2-1.
#3 ML Jaisimha and Salim Durrani vs England, Kanpur 1964
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi won the toss and elected to bowl first in Kanpur in 1964. The pitch was described as a "defunct strip of turf" by the cricket media.
ML Jaisimha was an opening batter who could chip in with a bit of off-spin, while Salim Durrani was an all-rounder who bowled left-arm orthodox spin. By then, the latter had taken 75 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 35.
The move to start with Jaisimha and Durrani backfired as the English openers could counter the spin. Although the visitors enforced a follow-on, the match ended in a draw.