You talk of Ravindra Jadeja and his emergence as one of the best all-rounders in the world of cricket, and you will, in all likelihood, state his numbers with the bat in the last few seasons as your argument. And not without reason. Such has been his assurance at the crease that India did not hesitate to push the player to No.5 against England at The Oval, over Ajinkya Rahane, and his confident batting against the quicks further displayed his importance in the Indian side.

But while his showings with the willow improved, he was still considered by many not good enough to be India’s premier spinner, especially in overseas conditions. Ahead of the Australia tour last December and then again before the England series, Jadeja’s presence in the XI as the lone slower bowler over R Ashwin led to plenty of discussions. He was good, but not good enough, and surely not someone you’d pick over Ashwin. The latter, a modern-day magician, if you will, was a sure-starter, and Virat Kohli’s stubbornness to have Jadeja in the XI belied logic.

Maybe it was stubbornness to keep out Ashwin. Jadeja, from the beginning of 2019 till the first Test against New Zealand had a bowling average of 32.24, which increased to 45.28 in the England series. In 16 Tests in this duration, he had not picked up a single five-for, and his strike rate read 72.4. In India, his strike rate was 77.6, with an average of 36 — numbers that were not up to the mark, when you consider how well Ashwin fared in this same phase. He averaged 20.33, having played two games fewer than Jadeja, had picked up five five-fors, and had done more than decently in the WTC final, where his match-haul of 4-45 was one of the bright sparks in what was an otherwise forgettable encounter for India.

The away numbers for both players were almost identical, with Jadeja averaging 29.52 away in 10 games, and Ashwin at 29.66 but with a better strike rate of the two. The left-hander’s batting helped him pip the off-spinner, but when it came to just the bowling, there was room for improvement.

His showing at Kanpur, though, where he picked up four wickets on day five against New Zealand on a track which was hardly ragging square goes a long way in silencing the critics, who believed that Jadeja needed a turner to excel.

How the pitch played at Kanpur: With most expecting a turner after the home series against England, the track at Kanpur came as a pleasant surprise. The wicket did not deteriorate or break up significantly as the match progressed, with Mohammad Kaif, a local, stating that preparing a rank-turner at the venue in winter with a river flowing nearby was next to impossible. The fast bowlers got movement, the batters were comfortable once they were set, and the spinners were challenged. The ball kept low on occasion, but the slow pace gave the batters adequate time to understand the trajectory of the delivery. Axar Patel, who got five wickets by bowling the “surra”, as Ashwin called it (a ball that keeps so low, it goes along the ground), was the most successful India bowler in the game, but the other two spinners had it tough initially.

Jadeja, however, seemed to pick up something from Axar before day five as he went on to show that he could be potent on placid wickets as well. He drew batters forward with the flighted deliveries, forcing them to play inside the line, varied his pace from over to over, and kept the balls low, to get lbw into play. In the end, all four wickets that he picked up were leg-before. Jadeja also made excellent use of the rough by operating from wide on the crease. He is especially effective against the left-handers, as he keeps to a sixth-stump line against them, which was Kohli’s explanation for picking Jadeja over Ashwin at The Oval. Jadeja had returned with a four-for in the game, playing a pivotal part in India’s win.

The spinner even sent down deliveries that read 99kph on the speedometer at Kanpur, mixing his pace well on a docile wicket whilst ensuring his line and lengths were accurate. Bowling quicker on a flat track allows a spinner to get maximum purchase, especially when the ball is keeping low. It tempted the batters to play inside the line of the delivery, only to find themselves out lbw. Jadeja had implemented something similar at the SCG earlier this year, picking up 4-62 on a wicket that did not have much turn on offer. “The idea was to create pressure as this wasn’t a wicket where you would get chance in every over. You can’t bowl all deliveries at the same pace on this wicket as there was no turn on offer. You had to mix and match and create angles,” Jadeja had stated.

A flatter trajectory, which enables him to deceive the batters and leaves them cramped up for room, along with a quick over-rate and a low economy rate further makes him a tough bowler to face. He conceded 1.42 runs an over at Kanpur in the second innings and had given away 1.66 at The Oval. Control on any given day, even if it doesn’t fetch wickets, is of utmost importance, as it then allows the other bowlers to feed off the pressure. In overseas wins, when the pitch might not be as responsive, Jadeja has been top-notch in this regard: he gave away runs at 1.93 an over at Lord’s in 2014, conceded 45 runs off 25 overs for two wickets at MCG in 2018 in the first innings, and had an economy rate of 1.70 at Kingston in 2019 in the first innings. He bowled stump-to-stump at Lord’s earlier this year as well, to indicate that his recent bowling numbers do little justice to his on-field contributions.

The left-armer, who often plays second fiddle to Ashwin at home, and to the quicks overseas, might not have the best numbers with the ball, but he has been doing exactly what the team has asked him to. He might be ineffective on days like he was in the WTC final but more often than not, he will whip up a performance to take India closer to the finish line. Even if his batting overshadows the bowling, and his spells aren’t necessarily memorable, Jadeja the spinner has played a huge role in India’s recent Test success, and the Kanpur performance is just another reminder of that.