Spin city: How India’s spinners have ruled Dubai

Dubai: India’s band of spinners have been a roaring success in the Emirates. Each of the quartet has their own unique selling point and they cover up each other’s handicaps over the course of 50 overs.

While Ravindra Jadeja is the senior-most, he’s the fittest of them all. Varun Chakravarthy is the newest starter, a mystery with the ball, but a weak link in the field. Kuldeep Yadav’s world of spin is a rarefied place, for there are so few who bowl left-arm wrist spin like him. Axar Patel bowls the most common mode of spin but adroitly, with subtle variations.

Who knows if the four of them will ever come together again. It’s uncommon to see so many overs of spin in an ODI. The Dubai leg of the Champions Trophy is an outcome of a concurrence of events – back-to-back tournaments in Dubai making the pitches tired and India’s matches scheduled here for reasons other than sport.

India has made the most of the conditions. Not just by playing them but also by using them perfectly.

Finger spinners tend to have greater control with the new ball. Axar is used to bowling the early overs in a T20I. Rohit Sharma has trusted the left-arm spinner the most for the Powerplay. Axar had an immediate impact in the tournament. His first over itself against Bangladesh was almost a hat-trick, but for a dropped catch. He has been economical too.

Yadav is by far India’s most productive ODI bowler in the middle overs, but for this tournament, Rohit has trusted Jadeja with middle-overs duties. All the overs from the senior spin all-rounder have been in the middle overs (4 wkts, ER 4.78, Avg 38.25). Jadeja’s best spell came against Australia on what was the most batting-friendly pitch seen in Dubai.

Yadav’s use has been interesting. In the semi-final against Australia, he was handed the new ball to challenge Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne. Of all the Indian spinners, the left-arm wrist-spinner has done the most bowling in the death overs. Getting 4 wickets in his 10.3 overs, he’s not conceded many runs (ER 5.52). He has struggled to pick up wickets in the middle-overs though, getting only 1 wicket in his 23 overs bowled over 4 matches.

Is that a cause for concern? R Ashwin does not think so. “Yes, Varun Chakravarthy is gold. But do not lose out on the diamond that Kuldeep Yadav is,” he said on his YouTube channel. “Please do not estimate his bowling only by wickets.”

Chakravarthy has certainly been the gold standard. The mystery spinner has bowled across phases, picked up wickets everywhere and not been overly expensive. In only his two matches, he’s raced ahead of the other spinners in wicket taking charts.

“Varun Chakravarthy’s novelty factor is going on. His bowling is coming (well), because he is an X factor. That’s why people are watchful and playing, and they are not ready to take such a risk,” Ashwin said.

Every time they have tried to take a risk; they have been found wanting. The Kiwi batters could not pick him off the hand, which meant survival was difficult on a surface that gave the spinners maximum assistance. Chakravarthy was all over New Zealand with his mystery deliveries. Against Australia, Travis Head lost his wicket in the first ball facing Chakravarthy, skying a catch to long-off.

India’s spinners haven’t just bowled the bulk of the overs – 125.3 to 68.5 overs by pace – they have done it across phases. If India gets the result they are after on Sunday, this Dubai odyssey will become a career highlight for each of the tweakers.