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Deftly finishing 50 of the 150 overs England had to
bat out to salvage the 2016–17 Visakhapatnam Test, were Alastair Cook and
Haseeb Hameed. After an hour of hard technique and luck inquiry, England were
two wickets down and might need to bat out an additional 90 overs, if not
longer, as India had bowled 21 overs in that hour. Furthermore, not a cloud
could be seen.
Imagine how disheartening it is to realise that,
despite 21 overs of intense focus and application—21 overs in which you had to
keep out two of the best spinners in history—that you have made no progress
towards bringing down your goal. That is Indian Test cricket.
Possibly the hardest task in competitive sport is to
go to India and win a Test series. In cricket, it most certainly is. Winning
the World Cup of ODIs is simpler. Since the last time a visiting team triumphed
in a Test series in India, there have been three of them. Winning a World Test
Championship is simpler: in their respective championship cycles, the two WTC
champions have not even gone close to winning in India.
India hasn’t lost a home Test series in over 11 years,
while in that time, Australia has dropped three, England two, New Zealand two,
and South Africa four. During this time, there have been no drawn series and
only one that has reached its final test still alive.
India have only lost three home Test matches in over
11 years, amassing a win-loss ratio of 12, almost twice that of Australia, the
next-best home team during this time.
Two all-timers are mostly to blame for this
domination. When we questioned the future of India’s spin bowling following
their most recent home series loss to England in 2012–13, it felt like a very
long time ago.
Two of Indian cricket’s greatest match-winners, who
have demonstrated the skill, stamina, endurance, and desire for perfection to
make their country the most formidable force at home in Test history, are
examined here more than ten years later. The captain has evolved. While other
coaches have come and gone, these two have remained.
One may argue that these two are so excellent that
wickets that eradicate their entire bowling discipline have been prepared in at
least three of the nations they visit. There was not a single spin delivery
bowled by the hosts in the recently finished series in South Africa.
Historically, New Zealand has been a difficult site for spinners, and England
is gradually shifting to grounds that don’t require spinners at all,
particularly when India is in town.
The wickets in India do not completely remove the fast
bowlers, because they are backed by a strong fast-bowling attack in addition to
these two outstanding spinners. Fast bowlers account for about one-third of
India’s 852 domestic wickets during this dominant run. To its team’s weaker
suit, no other location gives as much as this one.
At home, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have excelled.
When they have appeared, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma have been more
than competent. Jasprit Bumrah averages less than 16 here, so opponents may be
relieved that he hasn’t played much at home. Mohammed Siraj possesses the
qualities that ought to make him a formidable bowler at home.
We should be grateful for this supremacy because soon
a team with two outstanding spinners and a potent speed attack will visit
India, catching the hosts off guard and ending the longest home victory run in
history.
Already, there are indications that the power is
declining. The last time India won a run of more than two Test matches was in
2019. After going 12 series with just one Test loss, they have lost two Tests
in their last four home series. Even though they only prevailed by six wickets
last year, it was their closest victory since 2013. The unthinkable occurred in
the last home series when they won a toss on a square turner yet lost the Test.
The bowlers that England is sending to India this
season don’t have the same history as Australia’s did in 2022–2023; yet, their
new batting approach could make life difficult for an ageing but still
formidable combination. Later in the year, Bangladesh and New Zealand will make
visits. India can’t take this year for granted, but if they can extend their
home series winning streak to 19 by the end of it, we will have witnessed some
thrilling cricket.