Legendary India spinner Anil Kumble has heaped praise on the combination of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, calling them incredible. The two bowlers completed 500 wickets together in Test cricket during India’s first Test against England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The two spinners have been at their vintage best against England in Hyderabad. In fact, India has lost just four games when Jadeja and Ashwin play together, winning 35, losing four and drawing 10 matches.
Speaking to Sports18 on Day 3, Kumble called the combination of Ashwin and Jadeja incredible. Ashwin and Jadeja went past Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to become the most successful Test bowling pair for India.
“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,” Kumble added.
IND v ENG, 1st Test Scorecard
He went on to say that Ashwin and Jadeja don’t let the batters breathe since they keep going at the opposition. Ashwin has 494 Test wickets to his name, while Jadeja has claimed 278 wickets in the longest format of the game.
“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 added.
MOST SUCCESSFUL BOWLING PAIR FOR INDIA
R Ashwin (274) and Ravindra Jadeja (226) – 503 in 50 Tests*
Anil Kumble (281) and Harbhajan Singh (220) – 501 in 54 Tests
Bishan Bedi (184) and BS Chandrasekhar (184) – 368 in 42 Tests
After bowling England out for 246 runs in the first innings, India posted 436 runs in their first innings to take a healthy 190-run lead in Hyderabad.
