NEW DELHI: Over the last few years, Tests in India have seen spinners bag a hatful of wickets thanks to wickets conducive for the slower bowlers. Strips were designed to accentuate the strengths of the hosts but it inadvertently kept bringing in the away tweakers into the conversation.
The end result? It gave the likes of Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Tom Hartley, Todd Murphy and Shoaib Bashir a foothold into games. Sure, R Ashwin, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja benefited from those strips but it narrowed the skills gap between themselves and spinners from abroad.
It looks like India are now happy to go back to a time when they backed their spinners to come out on top on tracks which would take time to deteriorate. In fact, one saw the effects of that in play on Day Two of the second Test between India and West Indies. Jomel Warrican, no stranger to bowling in Asia, expected the wickets to do more because he had seen the ball 'turn square' in the series against New Zealand and West Indies.
"My expectation was that it would turn from Day One," Warrican said after the day's play. Clearly that isn't the case, Days 1 and 2 seem to be good for batting." The left-arm finger spinner, who picked up three Indian wickets on Saturday, has tasted wins in both Pakistan and Bangladesh but he said that the tracks there spun more on the first day itself. "You have to be really disciplined in India," the 33-year-old said. "You have to be very patient. You have to bowl in the right areas more consistently. When it starts to turn more, you come into the game."
Because India suffered on those wickets, especially against the Kiwis when they were blanked 3-0 at home, it prompted some soul searching amid the support staff.
Shubman Gill, captaining in his first series at home, referenced that his team were prepared to play 'hard, grinding cricket' at home before the Ahmedabad Test. There was some evidence of that as Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were in operation for the majority of the last 45 hours with just four wickets between them in 33 overs. Before them, the visiting spinners — Khary Pierre, Roston Chase and Warrican — bowled 81.2 overs for four wickets on a largely unresponsive surface.
The strip may be looking bare and there has also been some appreciable turn but the pitch has largely been conducive to strokeplay. Jadeja spoke about the lack of spin on this pitch. "We will have to bowl more from the shoulders," he said. "If we bowl slow, we don't have the bounce. It's easier for the batsman to adjust. We will have to mix it up. We will have to bowl in the air and slow. We will have to vary it. It's hard work."
The 36-year-old also confirmed that they have requested low, slow wickets and it may be a pattern going forward. "No, I'm not surprised because we've asked for a slow turn," he said after the day's play. "We have not asked for rank turners. I think this is what we expected. As the game progresses, the wicket will start turning slowly not on the first day. So I think we're not surprised. We have to work hard. We have to bowl well. Then only we will be able to get them out."
Some credit must also be reserved for the opposition batters as they were prepared to take the attack to the spinners, especially when Alick Athanaze and Tagenarine Chanderpaul were batting after Tea. In the process, they also brought up the side's first 50-run partnership of the series. The two southpaws employed the sweep while Athanaze, somebody who was compared to Brian Lara when he was growing up, hit Yadav for a six over long on.
In a short but gripping contest between these two, both players took turns in grabbing the upper hand but the left-arm wrist spinner had the last laugh with a wicket that looked like it was pre-planned. With Athanaze known to attack spin, Gill and Yadav played around the field with fine leg, mid-on and mid-wicket constantly moving back and forth. Yadav was also flighting the ball and inviting the slog sweep with mid-wicket up.
Athanaze obliged but couldn't clear mid-wicket.
In the context of the match and the series, it was another West Indian batter who had perished after getting a start (the eighth batter to fall after crossing 23 but before 45). In the wider context, though, this was how Indian spinners regularly claimed their wickets in an era when tracks didn't have that much purchase.
Will this be the norm when South Africa come visiting next month?
Sai may be fit to bat
B Sai Sudharsan, who was hit flush on the hand, while holding on to a stunning catch to dismiss John Campbell at short-leg, may be cleared to bat if the need arises. He was seen nursing the injury but the management is of the opinion that it isn't anything serious. At least not right now.
