File photo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.© AFP
Amid the ongoing first Test against England in Hyderabad, former India captain Anil Kumble reserved high praise for veteran spin-twins Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. Both the players have picked more than 500 wickets between them in Test cricket, bagging three each in the first innings against England. In the 49 Tests they have played together, India have won 35 games while losing just four in the process. On Ashwin and Jadeja surpassing him and Harbhajan as India’s most successful Test bowling pair, Kumble hailed the achievement as “incredible”.
“The pressure on these two spinners right from the first test match when they came together to the 41st has not changed, and to have been through those pressure moments and come out with match winning performances, either by Ashwin or Jadeja or both is incredible,” said Kumble.
“Sometimes both of them have picked up five-fers. If someone has picked up five in the first, then the other guy picks five in the second, and to consistently do that for 40 games and ensure that your team wins 30 times out of that is incredible,” he added.
The legendary spinner also suggested that Ashwin and Jadeja don’t let the opposition batters breathe due to their aggressive mindset.
“These two are brilliant. And it’s not easy for a batter to just breathe even for one ball, because these two are constantly at you. And the best thing about spin bowling and about Indian conditions is these two can go on. They will be coming at you and that is the beauty about these two bowlers,” Kumble concluded.
For India, Kumble (281) and Harbhajan (220) had picked 501 in 54 Tests. Meanwhile, Ashwin and Jadeja have crossed the mark in their 50th Test together.
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