A Test series in India invariably boils down to the spinners. The last time the subcontinental giants lost a series at home, to England in 2012-13, spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar wreaked havoc.
India took their lessons from that series and made it mandatory to include one (or two) left-arm spinners who can bowl at pace, along with star off-spinner R Ashwin, and play on tracks that usually turn from the first session of the first day.
The results have been brilliant and the hosts have not even come close to losing a series in India. The only team that came close to making it tight was Australia in 2017, when they managed to win one Test before losing the series 1-2.
This time around, there’s a feeling that the Aussies might just be better prepared. And it has a lot to do with their brilliant off-spinner Nathan Lyon and tall left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, who has been around for a while now.
The two can match up to Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who is making a comeback, and Axar Patel (if the Indian team management feels necessary to have three spinners).
“It will be an extremely even contest. Every India-Australia series is always hyped around the Ashwin-Lyon duel, but the support cast will be equally important,” former Australia assistant coach Sridharan Sriram told TOI.
The former Tamil Nadu all-rounder, though, believes that despite Agar’s maturity, Jadeja and Axar are better.
“Agar or Mitchell Swepson (the leggie) do not have the experience of bowling long spells, which becomes very important in India. I would have liked to see leggie Adam Zampa in the squad, because he has played in India and has even got Virat Kohli out in white-ball cricket a few times,” Sriram said.
While the performance of the spinners becomes extremely crucial in a series like this, it is equally important how the batters deal with the turning ball on such pitches.
There is a strong feeling that the mercurial Suryakumar Yadav will make his Test debut in Nagpur because of his ability to unleash the sweep shot, but Sriram feels the series will be decided by how Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara play.
“Surya is an excellent player, but Test matches on Indian tracks are decided by batters who can take away back-to-back sessions from the opposition. And there have been great players of spin who don’t play the sweep, including Virat. For me, Virat and Pujara are key, but they will be matched shot for shot by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. These two have all the experience, know to play spin, and it’s going to be a fantastic contest,” Sriram said.
‘Aussies will miss Maxwell’
Sriram, who worked with the Australian team between 2015-19, feels the one player Australia will sorely miss is Glen Maxwell.
“George Bailey (the chairman of selectors) loves horses for courses and they would have loved to have Maxwell here. His ability to hit big against spinners and bowl spin, along with the subcontinental experience, would have been handy. It’s a pity he is out injured,” Sriram said.
The Aussies look well-matched in most departments and their recent experiences of playing in Pakistan and Sri Lanka should come in handy. But Sriram feels there is an area which the Indian team can exploit with their spinners, and that is Australia’s Nos. 5-7.
“I will be waiting to see how the likes of Cameron Green, Travis Head and Alex Carey deal with the wily Indian spinners. If Australia are to have a chance in this series, these guys will have to come good.”
From Thursday on, we will know if this current crop of Aussies can make it tight for an Indian team that has forgotten what it is to lose at home.
