Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the perfect partners in crime

The duo has been in rollicking form off late both with bat and the ball 

There was a time when two Australian bowling legends used to hunt in pairs—Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, there was a saying also which went,”Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Lillee doesn't get you, Thommo must".

Nowadays the same can be said about India’s spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and if by chance their bowling doesn’t get you their batting will.

Till now oppositions have only feared the pair for their spin, turn and bounce but off late, they also have pulled out another dimension from their rich pool of talent that is their batting.

The batting 

In the present ongoing Test series against England, the duo has bagged 25 out of the 53 wickets that have fallen and also effected a run-out. On the other hand with the bat, they have together notched 387 runs from three games at an average of 35 with five 50-plus partnerships coming in crucial times.

In the first innings of the third Test, England rallied back into the contest by grabbing a few quick wickets and reducing the hosts to 204/6. India still needed 79 runs to take the lead but it looked like England would bowl them out before that. That is when Ashwin and Jadeja came together to spoil England’s plan and ended up adding 97-runs for the seventh wicket. Jadeja then went on to add 80 more with Jayant Yadav to help India get a 134-run lead.     

Though Ashwin has been doing this for a few series now, Jadeja is new to the act. The latter also provided crucial support to captain Kohli in the final innings of the Rajkot Test where India were in a tricky situation at 132/6. Their 40-run stand helped the hosts clinch a draw after being on the back foot for the entire duration of the game.

Though Jadeja has scored tons of runs in the domestic circuit he has not quite lived up to his potential in Test matches but now he is slowly beginning to show he knows how to wield the bat in the international level too and the 90-odd at Mohali has boosted his confidence a lot.  

"I don't look at myself as a batsman (in Tests) but I am a batsman," Jadeja said later, in a press conference. "I have made runs in domestic cricket, in first class cricket. If you take away my Test performances, I average 53 in first class cricket. It is not my first innings where I have made 90. Agreed, this was my longest Test innings but I know that I can play.”

Earlier, every time India were six down panic used to set inside the dressing room, as they knew the innings would end very soon. But now there’s more assurance especially with Ashwin, Jadeja and coming good. For the record, in the last three years, India's lower-order partnerships (seventh wicket to 11th wicket) have had the best average in Tests among all countries — 25.01.

The partnership between the two also started developing around three years back and now is in full bloom. Somehow their bowling camaraderie and success has trickled down to their batting too. Another reason might be they know each other very well and back each other in times of crisis.

After the first Test in Rajkot where Ashwin only picked up , 2/167 Jadeja voiced his support for his spin twin saying he wasn’t to be blamed alone.

"We have five bowlers and all five bowlers have the responsibility and not only Ashwin. As it happens sometimes, chances go down, it's all part of the game. Everyone is responsible in equal measure," Jadeja said.

And Ashwin too heaped praises on the left-hander for his all-round performance in Mohali.

"I thought Jaddu batted beautifully. It was very pleasing. The way he batted, left the ball alone, played his shots it was fabulous," Ashwin said.

The bowling 

As a bowling duo too, they are relentless in their pursuit of wickets. They don’t allow willowers to settle down just by knocking it in the gaps. They hurry back to their run-up and attack the stumps again.

They also plan a lot of things, depending on the surface. Sometimes it’s Ashwin who chokes and Jadeja picks the wickets and sometimes it’s just vice versa.

Their chemistry was most prominent in the final day of the Vizag Test as they strangled England into submission. Ashwin fed on the uneven bounce while Jadeja fully utilised the rough outside the off-stump. They bowled 23.4 overs at stretch not resting until India got their win.  

Since November 2015, the duo has picked up the most wickets in Test matches-124. And are also quite a long way ahead of the rest with a brilliant bowling average of 18.15 with 11 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls.

There’s no denying the fact that the crackling chemistry between the two have now given the World No.1 side an edge over other teams.