Sometimes lessons from the past, if remembered in time, serve as a great saviour in the future. Having taken a 1-0 lead over England, much like it did four years ago, India is keen not to repeat the mistakes committed during the lost four-Test series at home.
So far in the two Tests, much against expectations, India has refrained from testing England on turning tracks. On the contrary, the surface at Rajkot served England better as it won the toss and scored in excess of 500 runs, spending time in the middle to get a good look at the Indian spinners.
Even at Vizag, the ball did not turn alarmingly, but the variable bounce of the surface caught England on the wrong foot. Ten leg-before decisions clearly reflected the doubts in the minds of the England batsmen wondering whether to negotiate the turn or the low bounce. Moreover, the pace of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav struck useful blows and kept up the pressure.
Four years ago
But looking ahead, if India is still not thinking of an overly spin-friendly surface in the series, it is only because what happened four years ago is still fresh in the minds.
After India won the first Test at Ahmedabad by nine wickets, England hit right back at Mumbai with a crushing 10-wicket triumph. In the second innings, the spin-duo of Monty Panesar (six wickets) and Graeme Swann (four) skittled out India for 142. England then won in Kolkata by seven wickets and easily drew the final Test at Nagpur to win 2-1.
This time, the Indian think-tank is in no mood to let England bounce back in the series by preparing a surface where the toss could become a serious factor and the England spinners turn the tables on the Indians.
Of course, there is no Panesar or Swann in this squad but in the India dressing room, there is a quiet respect for the off-spin of Moeen Ali, left-arm spin of Zafar Ansari and leg-spin of Adil Rashid. Also, the presence of Pakistani spin-coach Saqlain Mushtaq — a frequent tormentor of India during his playing days — in the England dressing room has not been underestimated by India.
Though the trio are not exactly known to ‘turn’ a match on its head, there is a feeling that this Indian batting line-up could crumble to spin. After all, there have been several instances where the Indians have been caught in the spin-web at home.
Bitter spin-dose
It is this doubt that has kept India away from the exact course it followed against England at home in 1993. Coach Ajit Wadekar chose to to repeat the bitter spin-dose, once administered by the trio of B.S. Chandrasekhar, S. Venkataraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi during that epic away series-victory in 1971.
In 1993, India blanked England 3-0 with spinners Anil Kumble, Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatapathy Raju striking almost at will on spin-friendly tracks.
Athough Kumble, as the chief coach, is still in a position to influence the decision on the playing surface, he has never talked about killing the opposition with spin alone.
Therefore, it is quite clear that this Indian team will be pleased to win the series, without pushing too hard for spin-friendly surfaces.
Curator non-committal
The surface at Mohali has long ceased to be a pace-friendly pitch, testing the batsmen further in the nippy conditions of winter months. Curator Daljit Singh, despite his vast experience, was reluctant to speak about the surface on Thursday.
He chose to play it safe with this stereotypical response, “It is a typical Test pitch, with something for the batsmen and something for the bowlers. It depends on the capabilities of the players, how they perform in the given conditions.”
Even without the help of the curator, the nature of the present pitch will, obviously, be known once the action begins on Saturday. For now, it is better to go by what Kumble maintains, “I am someone who certainly does not give too much importance to conditions. We need to play good cricket.”
