The 2023/24 home series against England has, so far, witnessed the Indian spinners put up one of their most insipid performances at home in some time.
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Ollie Pope’s 196 turned the Hyderabad Test match on its head after England, 190 in arrears, had been reduced to 163-5. They made 420 in conditions Indian spinners were expected to run through.
It took India a Jasprit Bumrah masterclass to stop England in their tracks in the first innings at Visakhapatnam, but England stayed in the game. Chasing 399 in the fourth innings in India – when playing spin should be at its most difficult – England reached 50-0, 95-1, 194-4, and 275-7 before being bowled out for 292, the second-highest total in the fourth innings by a touring side in a Test match in India.
For the second time in two Test matches at home, India’s spinners could not run through a side in their second innings.
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Of course, India levelled the series in the second Test, just as they had against South Africa in 2010/11, Australia in 2016/17, and against England in 2020/21 – the last three occasions they had lost the first game of a home series.
The win should have made the Indian fans optimistic, yet one cannot help but feel that India do not seem as dominant this time. This, after all, is a side that has not lost a Test series at home for over a decade now.
Part of that is because India have owed their invincibility to a terrific spin attack; and for once, the same spinners have unable to exert their usual domination over the touring batters.
One of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja invariably runs through a batting line-up. On the rare occasions when they do not, Axar Patel – whose batting credentials boost his case – steps up. Kuldeep Yadav, who would have had a reasonable career for any other country, has to wait for an injury to one of the three.
All four average under 25. At home, Kuldeep’s number rises to 25.60, but the others make up by going for under 22 a wicket. All four have played in this series. None of them has got a four-wicket haul across two Test matches.
While they will have three Test matches to rectify this, this is only the third time in their history (and the first time since 1979/80) that no Indian spinner has taken four wickets in an innings in a home series in a collective effort of 100 overs.
Of course, there can be multiple reasons behind this. Unlike batters, bowlers often depend on teammates for milestones, for they compete with each other. They also have to compete with Bumrah, whose 15 wickets are the most in this series across teams and bowling genres.
But while the lack of ‘daddy spells’ can be explained, the overall performance of the Indian spinners has raised concerns.
It is not every day that touring spinners (33 wickets at 33.90) outbowl their Indian counterparts (23 at 38.39) on Indian soil for a span of more than one Test match. To add to that, only seven times have Indian spinners averaged worse in a home series; and this is their worst show since the 2012/13 defeat against England.
If the economy rates of the spinners – England 3.48, India 4.18 – tell part of the story, the real scenario is worse: each of the four Indian spinners has been more expensive than each of the five England spinners. Additionally, until now, never have Indian spinners collectively gone for more than 3.31 an over across a series.
Part of this can be attributed to the contrasting approaches of the batters of the two sides against spin, but England’s high-risk approach should have, at least in theory, resulted in more wickets.
As things turned out, the Indians – who have in their ranks two all-time greats – have taken a wicket every 55 balls. That is marginally, but not significantly, better than the 58 of England, whose spin attack consists of three men (Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir) who had one Test cap between them before the series; Jack Leach, who picked up an injury during the first Test match; and Joe Root, somewhere between part-timer and all-rounder.
To sum up, England have scored significantly quicker against the Indian spinners than India have against the English spinners without the risks hurting them in any way.
Of course, Ashwin and – once he returns – Jadeja have enough in their arsenal to help the fans relive the familiar tale of Indian spin dominance at home. In their punctuated careers, Axar and Kuldeep have played excellent support acts to the two giants.
Up to this point, however, it has been an atypically underwhelming performance from the Indian spin unit.
