Spin has dominated the first few days of the third Pakistan-England Test at Rawalpindi and the two ongoing Test matches between India and New Zealand at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium.
The dominance of spin on the first few days of the third Pakistan-England Test at Rawalpindi and the two ongoing Test matches between India and New Zealand at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium have been notable, with the tweakers setting new records, milestones, and memories from “Pindi to Pune.” On what was a spin-friendly surface, the Indian team selected a trio of frontline spinners in the second Test match between the Kiwis and India: Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin. All three of them were outstanding batsmen when in form.
Washington, who is playing his first Test in more than three years following that historic victory over Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane in January 2021 that sealed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was chosen over a much more experienced and skilled spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, who has frequently been left out of Test matches because of Ashwin-Jadeja’s batting prowess. This decision raised concerns.
Much was noted about Kuldeep’s absence from the field when the Kiwis were 197/3, with Rachin Ravindra appearing to be on track for another century and only Ravichandran Ashwin having made some noteworthy but unimpressive dents in the Kiwis’ innings.Washington, who had so far bowled tightly, responded to the commotion in the most commanding manner imaginable, capturing the next seven wickets with his brilliant ball movement. In the first innings, he caused the Kiwis to collapse from 197/3 to 259 all out.
Washington proceeded to record his first Test fifer and his career-best Test numbers. Together, he and Ashwin, two Tamil Nadu stars, took all ten Kiwi wickets on the first day of the Test, which is only the sixth time in Indian history that spinners have done so.Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner, Rachin, Tom Blundell, and Tim Southee were among the five hitters that Sundar had clean bowled throughout his period. He was one of the players who achieved the most “bowled” dismissals in an Indian Test innings, including legends and more seasoned players like Jadeja, Anil Kumble, Jasubhai Patel, and Bapu Nadkarni.
Sundar’s numbers were the third-best by an Indian in Test matches against New Zealand and tied for the top spot in the 21st century with Ashwin. The spinner Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, who also played for Tamil Nadu, had the greatest ever records of 8/72 against the Kiwis in 1965 at Delhi and 8/76 at Auckland in 1975 with Erapalli Prasanna.
In addition, Ashwin surpassed Australian star Nathan Lyon, who took 187 wickets in 43 games, to become the most prolific wicket-taker in ICC World Test Championship history with 189 wickets in just 39 games. In addition, he became the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test history with 531, surpassing Lyon (530).
In contrast, the pitch in Rawalpindi was predicted to spin right away. This time around, it was the exact reverse of the last time England visited the venue in 2022, when they scored over 500 runs in a single day, including four hundreds.As Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Joe Root, and Ollie Pope all left in short succession, England fell from 70/1 to 118/6, leaving them caught off guard. Gus Atkinson (39 in 71 balls, with five fours) and Jamie Smith (89 in 119 balls, with five fours and six sixes) counterattacked, bringing England to 267 in 68.2 overs and preventing a total collapse.
During the Test innings, spinners bowled every over, marking the first time in 142 years that no pacers bowled an over.According to Wisden, the last time this happened was at Sydney in February 1882, when two slow bowlers from Australia, Joey Palmer and Edwin Evans, bowled 115 overs between them to dismiss England for 133.
With figures of 6/128 at Rawalpindi, Sajid Khan extended his incredible run in the series. It was the third-best spell by a spinner at the stadium, behind Mushtaq Ahmed (6/87 against New Zealand in 1996) and Noman Ali (6/107 against Australia in 2022). Zahid Mahmood took 1/44 in his ten overs, while Nomal Ali claimed three wickets for 88 runs in 28 overs. Salman Agha was the only bowler to go wicketless, conceding three runs in a single over.
It was the fourth time against England that Pakistan’s spinners have taken all ten wickets in the first innings of a Test match.
With spinners Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed taking two of these wickets, Pakistan was ultimately reduced to 73/3.In these two games, will spinners continue to receive assistance and lead their teams to victory on their own? We’ll have to wait and see.
