Ashwin or Jadeja? Who will be the lodestar at Chepauk?

IPL 2023: Over the last two evenings the signs have been quite telling at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. On the two practice pitches that lay either side of the match strip, batsmen from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals trained against spinners with the seamers chipping in every now and then. Even the throwdown specials used different release points trying to replicate what their batsman would encounter against the spinners on Wednesday.
Ravindra Jadeja (left) and Ben Stokes during a recent CSK net session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (Screengrab: CSK/Twitter)
The pitch for Chennai Super Kings’ first home match against Lucknow Super Giants last week was anything but the slow turners normally rolled out in the city for IPL. But early into the season, especially with the temperatures set to soar the end of April, the groundsmen have taken extra care with regular watering so that it doesn’t crumble too early in the tournament.
However, Wednesday’s fixture is likely to be decided spinners. There is Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and M Ashwin on one side and Ravindra Jadeja with Moeen Ali, Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana for company for the hosts.
The ‘face-off’ between India’s two lead spinners up in itself should spice up the contest, but it also happens to be one where Ashwin holds an edge over Jadeja at the venue, in a format where off-spinners are becoming scarcer and left-arm spinners are popping up everywhere.
Ben Stokes is unavailable for the game, and with the left-handers Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja in the top six, it would be interesting to see how Chennai use Ambati Rayudu and Ajinkya Rahane to deny Ashwin a home run against left-handers.
R. Ashwin of Rajasthan Royals. (IPL)
Ashwin knows Chepauk more than most. In the 40 IPL matches at his home venue, he has 46 wickets and in a tournament where off spinners are struggling to get even game time, Ashwin has stood out. In the three matches he has played so far, Ashwin has figures of 1/27, 1/25 and 2/25 and has been very smart with using his variations as well.
On the eve of the match, Ashwin tested himself against Buttler, Jaiswal and Sanju Samson – all power hitters – and had his own share of moments where he owned them all with his guile.
“Look, I think it all depends on what the surface presents. Like last time when Chennai played against Lucknow, it was very good. It’s all about adapting to the ground and playing the right shots. I think with respect to T20, more than the spinners coming to the fore, it’s about how the batters cope with the opposition bowlers. It’s four overs and it is not like you can put fielders around the bat and turn the game around,” Ashwin said.
While Ashwin had the cushion of bowling to a huge total against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, it was against Punjab Kings that he stood out. In a game where Punjab scored 197/4, Ashwin gave away only 25 runs despite yielding 11 runs in one over during powerplay.

Be it going for the kill or applying the breaks, Ashwin has shown even off-spinners can thrive, provided they have the necessary skills. “It’s about how many runs you have, if you are bowling second, how many runs you have on the scoreboard? For example, CSK had more than 200 runs. Spinners had something to bowl at. When you are bowling first, it is about how little you give. It is going to be about small margins,” Ashwin added.
If Ashwin sounded confident, Jadeja would be looking to carry his good form from Wankhede Stadium to Chennai. In a team where he has been the lead-spinner for around a decade, his performances with the ball haven’t been as yielding as that of Ashwin at Chennai. On the most favourable venue for spinners, through the seasons, the likes of Shadab Jakati, Imran Tahir have written their own success notes. Tahir has 15 wickets in 10 matches, Jakati 18 in 23 games. But strangely, Jadeja with his quick air time has struggled to have a similar impact.
In 35 IPL matches here, Jadeja has picked up only 19 wickets, has an economy rate of 7.07 and a strike-rate of 25.5. Although the left-arm spinner is the prime spinner for the Super Kings, MS Dhoni has often used him to pull things back with the ball, a trend that continues even this season. In the game against Lucknow, Jadeja bowled only one over as Dhoni preferred to use the other left-arm spinner Santner who can mix his line and pace more adroitly than the Indian.
With captaincy burden not around, Jadeja has a chance to create his own folklore in Chennai. If he steps up, it would be hard to stop the whles.