India vs England: Marauders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja killing opponents softly

There used to be a famous rhyme about two great Australian bowlers who hunted in pair: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Lillee doesn’t get you, Thommo must” The same could be said about Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin but their all-round skills mean the rhyme would actually have to read: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if their bowling doesn’t get you, their batting must.” As if the Ashwin-Jadeja combo wreaking havoc with the ball wasn’t intimidating enough for the opposition, the duo pulled out another crucial dimension from their rich talent reserve to add to the opponents’ woes, in form of their batting. And it has been on display in the current India vs England series. A combined 387 runs from three matches at an average of 35, and five 50-plus stands — most of them coming in crunch situations. Add to it a combined 25 out of 53 English wickets and a run-out in the fourth innings of the Mohali Test and you get a complete package. However, more than their bowling performances, it’s their batting that has stood out. [caption id=“attachment_3129736” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. AP[/caption] In the first innings in Mohali, England clawed back into the game after reducing India to 204/6 on day two. The hosts were still trailing by 79 runs and it seemed as if the visitors were the favourites to take the lead. This is when Jadeja and Ashwin got together and blunted the England attack with their patience and perseverance, which was the need of the hour. The duo added 97 runs for the seventh wicket to put India in the lead. The partnership was crucial and it ended up as the difference between the two sides. Jadeja then went on to add another 80 runs with Jayant Yadav to help India gain a decent lead of 134. Ashwin’s improvement as a batsman over the last few years has been remarkable while Jadeja’s resurgence as a batsman has proved to be crucial for India. Their batting was like a slow poison for England. They were solid in defence, didn’t get bogged down and then went after the bowling when the English legs were tired. It can frustrate and infuriate any opposition but there is very little they can do, such was the pair’s resolve. Ashwin has performed under pressure consistently in the last couple of series; Jadeja is getting there now. Jadeja had provided crucial support to Kohli, scoring 32* in the fourth innings in Rajkot when India were pushed into a tricky situation at 132/6 in the final session of the Test. A 40-run unbeaten stand with Kohli helped India churn out a draw after being on the back foot the entire match. Jadeja, the batsman, had always been frustrating because he never quite managed to achieve consistency. His case has always been intriguing, especially considering the three first-class triple hundreds that he has to his name. But he slowly seems to be realising his full potential now. He has been producing crucial innings since the South Africa Tests last year and his concentration levels have improved. The 90-run knock in the first innings in Mohali was his highest Test score and before this, he hadn’t faced more than 100 balls in an innings in Test cricket. In that outing, he went on to face 170 balls. “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. It is just that I was trying to give myself time, was not in a rush. I realised it [the ball] was coming slowly off the pitch, there wasn’t much turn. So if I settled down, I knew that after 60-70 balls, I could up my scoring rate.” These are the words of a man with incredible self-confidence but the one thing that has always been synonymous with Jadeja is the word ‘hard work’. “It’s (batting improvement) not magic. Just a bit more focus, spending some more time batting at the nets, talking to batting coach, mentally prepared for certain situations where you need to take more responsibility,” Jadeja had said after the third day’s play. Earlier, a sense of panic used to inevitably set in when India’s top six were dismissed. But with Ashwin, Jadeja and now Jayant, there is a sense of assurance. The lower order has stepped up big time to mask the middle order problems and performed in crunch situations. In the last three years (Since 1 January, 2013), India’s lower-order partnerships (seventh wicket to 11th wicket) have had the best average in Tests among all countries — 25.01. [caption id=“attachment_3130718” align=“alignnone” width=“553”]  7th to 10th wicket partnerships since January 2013.[/caption] Ashwin and Jadeja have been the vital cogs of these stands. The duo have averaged 32.85 for partnerships from seventh to 10th wicket — third-best behind Ashwin-Rohit Sharma (115.33) and Ashwin-MS Dhoni (39.33). [caption id=“attachment_3130726” align=“alignnone” width=“716”]  Highest percentage of India’s 7th-10th wicket runs when a specific player at crease[/caption] India have scored 33 percent of the runs between the seventh to 10th wicket stands when Ashwin has been at the crease (Since 1 January, 2013), while the second-best is 21 percent when Jadeja is at the crease. In this time, Ashwin has been involved in a staggering 59 partnerships. The two combined have scored 1,325 runs out of 4,903 in the seventh to 10th wicket stands (27 percent). Kohli emphasised the importance of lower order runs in the presentation ceremony. “It’s the first time in Indian history that Nos 7, 8, 9 have struck fifties,” Kohli said . “That’s a brilliant stat. We always thought we needed more resistance from the lower order, that pushes the opposition back. Ashwin has obviously been a champion, the No 1 all-rounder in world cricket. Jadeja is in the top 10 as well. But for Jayant to have that kind of maturity, he’s been a revelation. They’ve been standing out every game,” he added. The Ashwin-Jadeja partnership was born three years ago and since then, it has blossomed faster than an average Pakistan batting collapse. Somewhere down the line, it is the bowling camaraderie between the two that has helped them in their overall development as a batting pair. The two know each other well. They back each other to the hilt. They communicate a lot during practice sessions. But most of all, they support each other during tough times. During the first Test in Rajkot where Ashwin endured a tough time in the first innings ending with figures of 2/167 from 46 overs, Jadeja stood firmly behind the off-spinner and came out in his support. “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 didn’t back away in praising Jadeja after his all-round heroics against England 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 after the match. “I thought we got wickets due to pressure. We were bowling well in pair. Like batsmen do, bowlers too need to hunt in packs. Special mention needs to go to Jaddu. The fact that the ball wasn’t doing much, he kept bowling boring lines and lengths which was very important on this wicket. He formed the perfect foil for us,” he added. For the opposition, Ashwin and Jadeja the batsmen can be more frustrating than an average Indian saas-bahu soap opera with a special extended episode during festive days, while Ashwin and Jadeja the bowlers could be more fearsome than a horror movie with more fear-inducing scenes than an average Exorcist movie. As a bowling pair, they are relentless and ruthless. They don’t allow batsmen to settle down or even have a breather. They don’t provide time for the batsman to think about the previous ball on which he was beaten. It’s the way they complement each other that brings about the downfall of the opposition. It’s all carefully planned. Depending on the kind of pitch, sometimes it’s Ashwin who plays the pressure-building role and Jadeja who goes for the wickets and sometimes it’s the other way round. On the final day of the Vizag Test, they applied a perfect choke on England. Ashwin tried to utilise the uneven bounce while Jadeja pounced on the rough outside off. The duo bowled 23.4 overs in tandem at a stretch, in just 68 minutes, which was just about under three minutes an over. They built sustained pressure, which paved the way for an England collapse and an Indian victory. It’s their immaculate control which helps them build pressure. Jadeja can make batsmen doze off with his stump-to-stump line while Ashwin can keep the batsmen on their toes with his guile and variations. In the last three years, the duo has, on an average, bowled 25 maidens per match — most by any pair in Tests. Twenty-seven percent maidens per match is a testament to their accuracy and control, and that in turn, has put immense pressure on the batsmen. [caption id=“attachment_3130732” align=“alignnone” width=“903”]  Performance of top bowling pairs since January 2013[/caption] In the last one year (since November 2015), the Ashwin-Jadeja pair has scalped the most wickets in Tests — 124. They are way ahead of the rest of the pack with a stunning average of 18.15, 11 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls. Their all-round prowess has provided India a perfect balance. The Ashwin-Jadeja partnership is brutal as a bowling pair but they kill the opposition softly while batting. With this deadly combo, the duo has taken the term ‘hunting in pairs’ to an altogether different level. With stats inputs from Sampath Bandarupalli