Spinners rule the roost from Rawalpindi to Pune

(L-R) Washington Sundar, Sajid Khan (Pic: AFP)

Spinners have truly taken the cricket world by storm of late, transforming both Rawalpindi and Pune into spin paradises. With every delivery, they have turned pitches into playgrounds, leaving batsmen floundering and rewriting the rules of engagement.

In the IND vs NZ 2nd Test, India opted for a trio of frontline spinners, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin, on a pitch tailor-made for spin. The choice to bring back Sundar, playing his first Test in over three years since the memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy clincher at The Gabba in January 2021, sparked debate, especially considering the exclusion of the more seasoned Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has often found himself sidelined due to Ashwin and Jadeja's dual threats with bat and ball.

As New Zealand cruised to 197 for three, with Rachin Ravindra poised for another century and Ashwin only making minor inroads, many raised eyebrows at Kuldeep's absence. However, Sundar, who had been bowling with impressive precision, decided to silence the critics dramatically by snatching the next seven wickets, triggering a spectacular collapse from 197/3 to 259 all out in the IND vs NZ 2nd Test.

Also Read: Sundar's spell keeps Kiwis on backfoot, 'proud' sister calls it 'top-class'

Sundar ended the day with career-best figures and his first-ever Test five-for. Together with Ashwin, the duo became the first spinners to take all ten wickets on Day 1 of a Test in India, marking only the sixth time such a feat has occurred.

Sundar clean-bowled five batsmen, including Rachin, Tom Blundell, and Mitchell Santner, joining the ranks of legends like Anil Kumble and Bapu Nadkarni in achieving the most "bowled" dismissals in a Test innings on Indian soil. His figures are now the third-best by an Indian against New Zealand and joint-best for the 21st century alongside Ashwin.

Ashwin overtook Nathan Lyon to become the leading wicket-taker in ICC World Test Championship history with 189 wickets in just 39 matches, surpassing Lyon's 187 in 43 matches, and also moved to seventh on the all-time Test wicket-taker list with 531 scalps.

Meanwhile, miles away from Pune, Pakistan's Rawalpindi witnessed a rather comical twist.

Also Read: Pretty Sundar show!

After England's explosive outing at the venue last year, they were blindsided this time as they tumbled from 70 for one to 118 for six, with the likes of Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes falling one after the other.

Jamie Smith's counter-attack and Gus Atkinson's resilience salvaged some pride, pushing England to 267, but not without an all-spin bowling performance, a first in 142 years, with absolutely no pacers taking the field.

Sajid Khan continued his spin wizardry with figures of 6/128, making it the third-best spell by a spinner at the venue, while Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood contributed to the spin dominance.

By the end of the day, Pakistan found themselves at 73 for three, with Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed adding to the spin tally.

Will the spinners keep running rampant in these matches, single-handedly claiming victories for their teams? Only time will tell, but at this rate, it is hard to bet against them.