Ashwin and Holder, both all-rounders would be trying to make a mark on the scorecard in the two tests of the tour. Both are the epitome of experts in their own way. Both have carved their own legacies with their respective national teams. Their names are fearsome when any cricket fan thinks about them. Such powerful players they are. They have been rivals in IPL as well. So, their rivalry is about a decade long and they both know each other’s strengths and weaknesses which would be interesting to watch in the upcoming series.
Statistically, Ash (nickname of Ashwin), has far more experience in Test cricket as he has played 92 matches while Holder has played 62. Also, he has better bowling average of 23.93 (compared to Holder’s 28.80). This proves that Ash is clearly a better bowler than the other. To add on, Ash has more 5-wickets (32) and 10-wickets (7) haul than Holder (8 (5-wickets), 1 (10-wickets)). Though batting numbers favor Holder, they compete as bowling-all-rounder with each other. In terms of batting, both can finish off the game well, so its the bowling department that they have to be watched out for.
While Ash is currently the highest-ranked spinner in Test cricket, Holder is former highest-ranked all-rounder of the same format. Ash has many other accolades to his name such as the fastest bowler in the world to reach 100th Test wicket milestone (in just 18 matches), fastest bowler in the world to pick up 250 Test wickets (in just 45 matches) and joint-fastest bowler in the world (alongside Muttiah Muralitharan) to take 350 Test wickets (in 66 matches). Ash was also name in ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year for the year 2021 and also has the record of most number of Test wickets by a bowler in a home season. He, along side Ravindra Jadeja, became the first pair of spinners to be jointly ranked number 1 bowler in ICC Test Rankings history. He also has the record of the fastest bowler to take 25 fifers in Test history in terms of matches (47) and in terms of innings (89). So, in terms of records and achievements, our man is way above and is definitely on another level.
Head-To-Head, in Test cricket, Ash has dismissed Holder 2 times, while its 0 the other way round. So, Ash has got a slight edge over Holder in bowling toe-to-toe. In batting, Holder has scored 51 runs against Ash in Test matches while its 42 vice-versa. Holder has smashed 5 fours and 2 sixes against Ash which is quite considerable as Ash has thumped 3 fours and 0 sixes in Holder’s bowling. These one-on-one numbers will change in upcoming Test series and expecting Ash to improve his batting numbers against the Windies and show the same intelligence in bowling.
Ash made his Test cricket debut against West Indies which India won due to his brilliance, so indeed, they are one of his special opponents. And to conclude, it has been clearly proved that if India needs to win, we need Ash-win.
Nice one
Thanks dad.