Ravindra Jadeja, 37, and Manav Suthar, 24, are anything but the same or even similar. Both release the ball with the same hand but bring completely different skill sets to the table. While the experienced veteran masters repetition and consistency, the latter possesses significant wrist and finger magic to keep batters guessing. And then there is the "revs on the ball", which will likely become a phrase often repeated and associated with Suthar. Day 3 in Galle was the first time the two bowlers took the field together for India and bowled in tandem. Sceptics doubted India's three-left-arm-spin attack, but the pair proved why this could be a template for the future. They not only bowled well together but also kept variety as the top ingredient.
Jadeja is in the twilight of his Test career, but the all-rounder continues to silence critics by being the ultimate survivor. He has outlasted his peers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara and, in chief selector Ajit Agarkar's words, continues to be "India's No.1 Test spinner". Jadeja didn't get the degree of turn or the amount of drift that Suthar's fresh fingers imparted on the Kookaburra, but the art of firing in deliveries into the same spot makes India's past, read Jadeja, continuous. And in Suthar, they have found a perfect present and future. The two can not only co-exist but dominate, and the seven wickets they shared amongst themselves showed why the Indian team management preferred this option over the temptation of an off-spinner in Saransh Jain.
For Suthar, the learning from bowling alongside the veteran spinner has already begun, and he is in awe of the senior pro's consistency. "For example, he can bowl on the same spot. His consistency is world-class. So I would like to learn from him that no matter what the batsman is doing, how long can you bowl on the same spot? How you can make them play a false shot? So there's a lot to learn," Suthar told reporters on Monday.
India ran through the opposition's top order by taking five wickets in the first session, but the second session required work as the partnership between Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella staged a solid recovery for the hosts. As the ball got old and lost bite, the duo took control of the proceedings. The southpaws swept well, looked assured while tackling the turning ball and rotated the strike extremely well. While no wickets fell during that period, Suthar felt the ball was doing enough to keep the spinners interested.
"The ball was not that soft. When the ball came, I didn't feel that it became too soft. Even they batted so well. Like their partnership, they batted so well. The wicket didn't fall in the entire session. But our team was focused on how we can create opportunities. You got the result of that in the next session. So that was the plan," explained Suthar regarding the period when India had to toil hard. "I feel that on this wicket, the more consistent you are, the more purchase you get on the wicket. So that's what we were trying to do. To bowl as consistently as possible, on a stump, whichever pace was best on that wicket," he added.
Left-arm spinners Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja picked seven scalps collectively as India bowled Sri Lanka out for 284 at stumps on day three of the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Monday.
Seven wickets in 42.4 overs isn't a bad tally to return with, especially when two left-handers faced most of the deliveries. The two kept changing angles, working around fields and release points, and Jadeja's relentlessness allowed Suthar to give it that extra rip. As expected, the 37-year-old was the side's most economical bowler, delivering the most maidens, and it was the pressure he created that allowed him to pick three and create openings from the other end too.
While the sample size is still small enough to pass a verdict on how the two can not only co-exist but flourish, the trailer on Day 3 in Galle shows signs of a blockbuster in the making. Across sessions and different conditions, of the pitch and ball, the two kept asking questions on a pitch which by no means was a raging turner. If India can stick to the combination and allow Suthar to learn and imbibe the consistency of the veteran, India will ensure that their future will never remain tense.
Brief Scores India 1st innings: 462 all out in 116.4 overs Sri Lanka 1st innings: 284 all out (Sonal Dinusha 100, Niroshan Dickwella 80; Manav Suthar 4/76, Ravindra Jadeja 3/57)
