Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha - India's twin weapons of mass destruction

By Nishad Pai Vaidya

 

While the entire focus has been on the performances of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara – the two filling in the big shoes of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman – its spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha who decimated New Zealand and played a major part in India 2-0 series win over New Zealand. In the aftermath of the retirement of Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh was expected to fill the void. However, his form plummeted drastically and India also couldn’t find him a stable partner. With Ashwin making his debut late last year and Ojha coming to the fore after Harbhajan’s axing, India have found a lethal combination that promises to build into a lasting and successful partnership.

 

In the two series that Ashwin and Ojha have partnered each other, they have been absolutely fantastic. In both the series, there has been a very close competition between the two – Ashwin being marginally ahead. The West Indies series was a tryout before the Australia tour – where India would play at max one spinner. Ashwin beat Ojha in the race as his batting was a major factor in his success against the West Indies.

 

Ojha warmed the benches in Australia even as Ashwin struggled to make a mark. On the good surfaces, Ashwin’s bag of tricks didn’t baffle the Australians as they seemed very comfortable playing him. What was baffling is that in the tri-series that followed Ashwin’s returns against Sri Lanka – who are known to have good players of spin – were better than those against the hosts.

 

Having contrasting styles, Ashwin and Ojha complement each other very well. While one is a classical left-arm spinner with a lovely loop, the other is more unorthodox who attempts variations such as the carom ball etc. Since they bowl from different angles, it does create some element of doubt in the minds of the batsmen when they bowl in tandem. A batsman may adjust to one, but may not necessarily find it easy to come to terms with the other.

 

As pointed out by one of the commentators during the first day of the Bangalore Test against New Zealand, Ojha seems to be a better bowler when the surface isn’t very helpful. Ashwin relies on the conditions a touch for his success and finds himself under pressure when there isn’t much purchase. It happened in Australia and during the first innings at Bangalore.

 

Ojha didn’t get an outing in Australia, but his performances for Surrey during the County season last year reflect his ability to be effective on flat surfaces. During New Zealand’s first essay at Bangalore, he was ready to flight the ball and got just rewards with five wickets to his name. Even though Ross Taylor didn’t spare him from the carnage, he managed to maintain good bowling figures.

 

Let us have a look at their figures when they have bowled in tandem:

 

 

Player	M	Wkts	Avg	Eco	Inn Best	Match Best	5WI	10WM
Ravichandran Ashwin	5	40	18.50	2.85	6/31	12/85	5	1
Pragyan Ojha	5	33	20.90	2.50	6/47	7/109	3	0

 

 

These are phenomenal numbers and clearly reflect their efforts. Ashwin has five five-forst compared to Ojha’s three fivers. But if one looks into the scorecards, one would find that the latter has laid the foundation for the former. Ojha’s six wicket haul against West Indies at Delhi came in the first innings and Ashwin capitalised on the surface in the second innings. In Mumbai against the same opposition, the roles reversed. Even in Bangalore, Ojha did the hard work in the first innings and Ashwin finished the job in the second.

 

If one looks at rosters of all the Test playing nations, one would find that India is the only country that has two established spinners. Graeme Swann (England), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka) and Nathan Lyon (Australia) are the lone spinners for their sides with some others in the fray. New Zealand have Daniel Vettori as a certainty and have called up Jeetan Patel again – who is trying to re-establish himself. West Indies are yet to pick a clear choice between Devendra Bishoo and Sunil Narine.

 

Harbhajan is said to be on a gradual comeback trail and his selection for the ICC World T20 is a huge boost for his confidence. Anil Kumble is of the opinion that the Punjab offie may be a crucial factor for India’s success against England and Australia in the coming months. Considering Ojha and Ashwin’s remarkable runs, Harbhajan cannot break into the team. The two would be way ahead in the pecking order and there is no way Harbhajan can trump them even if he performs well in the T20s. It would be a huge mistake to let Harbhajan’s reputation gain precedence over the form and performances of Ashwin and Ojha..

 

Some may argue that Ojha and Ashwin’s performances in India have come against weaker opponents, but their style of bowling etc has given ample evidence that they are here to stay. However, sterner tests await them as England and Australia would certainly be stronger sides. India’s fortunes would depend on their form and the duo has to raise the bar with each passing game. If India want to avenge their defeats in the two countries, it is imperative that they back their strengths.

 

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and an analyst for the site’s YouTube Channel. He shot to fame by spotting a wrong replay during IPL4 which resulted in Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal. His insights on the game have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. He can be followed on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/nishad_44 )