Two-man army

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are closer to Kapil Dev on the list of India's best Test all-rounders

- AYAZ MEMON

India beat Bangladesh by a whopping 280 runs in the first Test in Chennai, but it is moot if the victory would have been so facile without stellar contributions from all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

India were 144-6 in the first innings before the two put on 199 runs to take the team to a strong 376. From there on, they switched on their formidable spin-bowling skills to seal the issue.

In India’s imposing home record (17 Test series wins on the trot before the current Bangladesh one), this duo has played a crucial role. However, what makes the Ashwin-Jadeja tandem fascinating is that both are spinners in the same team. Generally, as the history of Test cricket shows, when a team has had more than one high-quality all-rounder, it has been two quicks who can bat, or a fast bowler and a spinner who can wield the willow.

Scrolling down teams with two or more fast bowling all-rounders since World War II, here is what we find. Bradman’s Invincibles had Keith Miller and Ray Lindwall, South Africa in the late 1960s and 70s had Eddie Barlow and Mike Procter, the West Indies in the late 1950s and early 60s had Garfield Sobers (who could bowl all styles) and Frank Worrell, Pakistan in the 1980s had Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, and New Zealand had Richard Hadlee and Lance Cairns in the same period. In the 1990s and 2000s, South Africa had Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener.

As for teams boasting a fast bowling and a spin all-rounder, there was Richie Benaud and Alan Davidson (Australia), Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri (India), Imran Khan and Mushtaq Mohammad (Pakistan), Chris Cairns and Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), and Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka).