Have Indian batsmen lost their skill to tackle quality spin bowling? That is the big question that has followed their crushing defeat in the first test in Colombo last week.
Their innings and 239-run defeat on a good Singhalese Sports Club ground pitch saw a line-up boasting Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman bundled out twice around four sessions of play.
Off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, test cricket’s highest wickettaker, captured 11 wickets, but Indian batsmen were also clueless against debutant Ajantha Mendis, who snapped up eight with his mysterious mix of deliveries.
Indian batsmen have struggled under pressure against off spin in the past, contrasting with their command against leg break bowlers, including Shane Warne.
In Colombo, even the wristy Laxman misread the subtle googly from Mendis twice while Dravid looked even more unsure.
With the batting heavyweights towards the final stages of their careers, the concern in the Indian camp is understandable, Mendis having ripped through their younger set of batsmen in the Asia Cup final, scalping six for next to nothing.
Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar acknowledges the challenge.
“Indian cricketers have traditionally been good players of spin but that doesn’t mean the current or future generation of cricketers will continue to be so,” he said on cricket website www.cricinfo.com.
“In fact the batsmen who have been part of the side since 2002-03 have been better players of fast bowling than the batsmen in the 90s.”
Dravid says one has to be a very good player of spin to break into the national side but then the demand changes.
“When you got into the Indian team, you had to become a good player of fast bowling to survive at that level,” the Deccan Herald newspaper quoted him as saying.
“Over time, playing so much fast bowling, focussing so much on that, some of the ways in which I played spin probably changed,” he says. “I used to be a lot more positive against spin.
Are the soft hands, supple wrists and deft footwork becoming a thing of the past for India? The second test starting in Galle on Thursday should provide some answers.
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3 comments so far
No wonder the Indians played badly. Of course the same would have happenned if India batted first. Then Srilankans would be facing the music.
Also it is time the old war horses return to the stable. Probably the Indian after the series will play in Bangladesh or Zimbabwe and create all sorts of record. In such matches the indian veteranans will score heavily keeping out the younsters
- Posted by K.VenkatachalamIt seems Indian batsmen are reluctant to use their feet. Remember the days when Mohinder Amarnath used to dance down the track to bowlers of the calibre of Pakistan’s Abdul Qadir. They had the confidence to use their feet to negate the length and the turn, even if it was just to take singles with drives to long on or long off. Nowadays, our batsmen step out to drive or loft only after reaching their personal milestones. Sad to see our stars struggle like this. Hope they won’t blame their bein laden-footed on excessive one-dayers and T20s.
- Posted by Madhuthe srilankans are’nt bowling orthodox spin. did any orthodox spinner ( at any level ) ever troubled indian batsmen? ( i can hardly remember few ). It is difficult to handle such unorthodox spin bowling atleast till the mystery abt mendis is cracked. what irritates me is grade-C Batsmen ( though good coulmnists ) criticize and comment.
- Posted by KKK