3 times Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin combined profitably with the ball in an overseas test
The spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin has played a very important role in the Indian team's dominance in Test cricket at home since 2013.
In the 46 games where Ashwin has teamed up with Jadeja, the off-spinner has grabbed 260 wickets in 86 innings. Both Ashwin's strike rate (50.5) and average (22.25) are better than when he bowls in the company of others.
So it is with Jadeja, with 220 of his 265 wickets coming in the company of Ashwin, with a considerably better average (20.33) and strike rate (51.9). As a pair, they have partnered to collect 480 wickets at an average of 21 in 46 Tests.
It's not that these two only thrive in Indian conditions. Even in foreign conditions, when they played together, they made significant contributions to the team's wins.
In this article, we will discuss three instances when these two have been successful together in overseas conditions.
#3 17 wickets, 1st test, Dominica, 2023
On a dry surface in Dominica, with grass patches here and there, it was Ashwin and Jadeja who wreaked havoc on the Caribbean batsmen in the 1st Test of the series.
Especially Ravichandran Ashwin, who proved to be too hot to handle for West Indian batsmen and was unplayable most of the time.
Not reading his variations off the hand, the batsmen tried to read them off the surface, which forced them to go after the spin duo as a surviving option.
This made the duo more lethal, with Ashwin picking up wickets in both innings while Jadeja picked up five himself in the match.
Both ended up with 17 wickets together, making sure that the West Indies were never even in the contest.
#2. 14 wickets, 2nd Test, Colombo, 2017
After contributing handy runs with the bat, Ravindra Jadeja (70 runs) and Ravichandran Ashwin (54 runs) had the luxury of bowling with 622 runs behind them. Both tweakers had their tails up in terms of their variations against the Sri Lankan batsmen.
Ashwin was enjoying bowling against his favorite match-ups in left-handers and scalped the openers Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne in no time. Both edged to loopy, slower deliveries that skidded, dipped, and turned from the surface.
He also took the big wicket of Angelo Mathews, who looked to tuck the shorter length delivery, only to edge it to the short leg (thanks to the extra bounce), where Cheteshwar Pujara took a stunner. Ravichandran Ashwin finished his spell with 5-69.
If it was Ashwin in the first innings, then it was Ravindra Jadeja who made Sri Lankan batsmen's lives miserable at the crease with his sliders and arm balls.
The highlight of his spell was the ball which turned sharply back into the centurion Dimuth Karunaratne, who was the only batsman who showed the stomach to fight after his team followed on.
Jadeja also picked up five wickets, ensuring India won the match by an innings and 53 runs.
#1 8 wickets, 2nd test, Melbourne, 2021
After the embarrassment of getting all out for 36 runs at Adelaide and losing the first test, India were looking for a turnaround like no other at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Who better than the senior players to take on the responsibility of bailing out the team from this situation?
A spirited performance from Jasprit Bumrah, who scalped four wickets, broke the top order of Australia. He was ably supported by the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up five wickets between them. This meant that Australia ended up with a below-par total of 195 runs in their first innings.
A fabulous century from Ajinkya Rahane ensured that India got a handy lead of 131 runs.
Now, it was up to Indian bowlers to restrict Australia to a low total, and the spinners raised their hands, picking up four wickets together to bundle out Australia for only 200 runs.