Chahal, Ashwin and the fire-and-ice routine for Rajasthan Royals

The leg-spinner, IPL’s highest wicket-taker so far, and the off-spinner, building pressure by containing batters at the other end, have a potent force together this IPL.

In the end, Prasidh Krishna’s 19th over, a wicket maiden after Delhi Capitals were left to get 36 runs from the last 12 deliveries, may have seen Rajasthan Royals home, but it was the eight overs from Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal that set up the successful defence of 222 in their IPL game at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. (Follow IPL 2022 Coverage)

Yuzvendra Chahal (L) and Ravichandran Ashwin. (IPL)

Wrist spinners Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, dubbed Kul-Cha for their effectiveness in tandem for India, have found more resonance among India fans though the Ashwin-Chahal pairing has been so effective for RR this season.

Even the RR social media handle preferred to promote Friday’s contest with pictures of the flatbread dish over their own spin twins. But Ashwin-Chahal outperformed Capitals’ Kuldeep-Axar Patel on Friday. Previously, Kolkata Knight Riders ‘mystery’ twins Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy (6-0-51-2 to Chahal-Ashwin’s combined 8-0-78-6 in the seven-run win for RR).

In the RR-DC match where 429 runs were scored, the collective figures of Chahal and Ashwin read 8-0-60-3. And Kuldeep-Axar? 5-0-61-0—three fewer overs and wickets.

Ashwin-Chahal has been quietly clinching moments that matter, using their craft polished through years of one-on-one battles against destructive batters. Ashwin is the defensive foil to Chahal’s daring. They quickly switch roles too when they have their quarry cornered.

While Chahal has been calling the shots, leading the way with the purple cap for most wickets, Ashwin has been happy to set aside his ego. The wily off-spinner has morphed into a defensive spinner, predominantly bowling carrom balls to right-handers, not letting them take control.

Not every expert agrees with Ashwin’s approach. Some feel he’s underselling his craft. But for now, the thinking cricketer is sticking to his guns. He he allows Chahal at the other end, at the top of his leg-spinning powers, to tease the batters with more air, smartly using angles and the longer-boundary advantage.

When Ashwin did get a wicket, a ripping carrom-ball bowled from wide of the crease that beat Andre Russell to bowl him for nought, it opened up KKR’s batting and set up Chahal’s hat-trick.

“Understanding roles is very important. Understanding the game situation is very important. It is sometimes just not possible to say, “we will look for wickets or look to contain”. It’s about understanding the scoreboard, the batsman,” Ashwin said after the win over DC on Friday night. “In Yuzi, I have found a partner who understands the game, the batters really well. We have great discussions off the field, and on the field also we keep the communication going with Sanju (Samson, RR skipper). It’s something we are enjoying.”

Against DC, it was Ashwin’s turn to take more wickets (2/32 to Chahal’s 1/28) when he had more runs to play with. Sarfaraz Khan gifted his wicket first delivery by holing out his sweep shot to square leg. The dangerous Prithvi Shaw was then done in by a carrom ball.

In the wickets column, Ashwin has only four to Chahal’s chart-topping 18. But as a collective, the two have been bowling the most difficult overs, plotting dismissals and earning plaudits.

While Ashwin has consistently been bowling the tough final over of powerplay, when batters look to maximise scoring, Chahal has been employed in the transition phase between the middle and death overs, another period in a T20 contest when batters look to raise the scoring rate. Quite often, Chahal has been held back as a match-up to an attacking ball-striker.

Although the odds are stacked against the bowler in such situations, with Chahal on the top of his game, he’s come away a winner more often than not. Romario Shephard, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Abhinav Manohar—all carry the reputation as big-hitters—are all Chahal’s scalps in the moving phase (16th over).

Both Ashwin and Chahal will have to overcome competition to earn selection for the year-ending T20 World Cup. But they are giving themselves the best chance in IPL by augmenting each other’s effectiveness and skills. “We never expected to get both of them in the auction. We were extremely lucky to have them,” RR chief coach Kumara Sangakkara recently said. “When they go out there, they lead our attack.”