Ravichandran Ashwin vs Kuldeep Yadav - who was more impressive in India's win over England in 2nd Test?
Team India bounced back from their shocking first-Test defeat with a 106-run win to level the five-match series against England at one apiece.
Batting first, India posted a healthy total of 396 in their first innings, thanks to a sensational double century by Yashasvi Jaiswal. The hosts then restricted England to 253 on the back of a magnificent six-wicket haul by Jasprit Bumrah.
Despite an uncharacteristically loose batting performance in the second innings, Team India set England a massive target of 399. The visitors made a valiant attempt to pull off a record chase but eventually fell short, leading to a thrilling series set up with three games remaining.
While Jaiswal and Shubman Gill starred with the bat in the two innings, Bumrah led India's dominance with the ball. Yet, the spinners' role in the victory cannot be undermined, as the trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav combined to pick up nine of the 20 English wickets.
However, Axar was reasonably off-color with only two wickets in the match, leaving it a close battle between Ashwin and Kuldeep for second place with the ball.
Considering the track was relatively easy for batters, Ashwin's batting exploits with 46 runs combined across the two innings do not bear much weightage in the overall perception of the duo's performance.
Keeping that in mind, let us compare the bowling performances of Ashwin and Kuldeep to determine who was more impressive in India's win against England in the second Test.
#1 Kuldeep outdueled Ashwin in the first innings
It is clear as night and day that Kuldeep Yadav outshone Ravichandran Ashwin in India's first innings with the ball.
After scoring 396 in the opening salvo, India faced a terrific response from English openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. The duo added 59 for the opening partnership at almost run-a-ball before Kuldeep removed the latter in his second over.
The left-arm spinner then went wicketless for a while before castling wicketkeeper Ben Foakes with a peach. Two overs later, Kuldeep picked up his third wicket by dismissing fellow spinner Rehan Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Ashwin had a rare dismal showing in the first innings as he went wicketless and conceded an expensive 61 runs in his 12 overs. Kuldeep finished his stint with excellent figures of 3/71 in 17 overs.
Verdict: Kuldeep Yadav - 8/10, Ravichandran Ashwin - 2/10
#2 The roles reversed in India's second essay with the ball
Ravichandran Ashwin's second innings was a classic case of 'cometh the hour, cometh the man' as the premier off-spinner stepped up at a crucial time for India.
The 37-year-old provided the side with the initial breakthrough at the fag end of Day 3 with the wicket of Ben Duckett. Ashwin then removed the first Test hero, Ollie Pope, and England's star batter, Joe Root, in back-to-back overs to reduce them from 132/2 to 154/4.
Despite picking up no further wickets, the veteran spinner had done enough damage and finished with excellent figures of 3/72 in 18 overs.
Kuldeep endured a rough first spell by giving away 21 runs off his four overs in the final session on Day 3. However, the chinaman bowler instantly delivered when brought into the attack at the stroke of lunch on the fourth day.
In his first over of the day, Kuldeep trapped Zak Crawley LBW when he was batting untroubled on 73, effectively ending England's hopes of a miraculous victory. Yet, that was his lone wicket in the innings, and the 29-year-old finished with mediocre figures of 1/60 in 15 overs.
Verdict - Ravichandran Ashwin - 8/10, Kuldeep Yadav - 5/10
#3 How did the duo fare against each other if contextualized by intangibles?
Numbers without the context of intangible factors and other circumstances provide only half the story. The spin-bowling pair of Ashwin and Kuldeep had their share of challenges coming into the second Test.
The former was four wickets away from the monumental 500 Test wicket mark, and it seemed to have adversely impacted his bowling throughout the match, especially when he reached 499. That he went 12 overs without a wicket after picking up three reveals the baggage Ashwin faced once he was one shy of the magical figure.
On the other hand, Kuldeep has been arguably India's most unfortunate cricketer, having not played a Test since his sensational eight-wicket outing against Bangladesh in December 2022. Furthermore, he featured in the XI only because of Ravindra Jadeja's injury.
That multiplied the pressure on him to deliver immediately with the competition among the spinners. It also did not help that Kuldeep hadn't played the first Test to enable strategizing his game plan against the English batters, a benefit Ashwin enjoyed.
Both spinners dismissed three top-to-middle-order batters, meaning their impact was more or less similar. Yet, Kuldeep's 'degree of difficulty' was much higher than Ashwin's based on the above factors.
Verdict: Kuldeep Yadav - 7/10, Ravichandran Ashwin - 6/10
To conclude, both spinners had their share of highs and lows throughout India's series-leveling win. However, Kuldeep Yadav undoubtedly edges out his senior spin partner, Ravichandran Ashwin, and was the more impressive performer in the Vizag Test.
Final verdict: Kuldeep Yadav - 20/30, Ravichandran Ashwin - 16/30