Day one of the Test series between India and Australia on Thursday was a good template of why the Indian team have lost only two of the 36 Test series this century at home. That template pivots around spin, both ways. On a track that wasn’t devilish but had some bite, Indian spinners snared eight of the 10 Australian wickets — an above-average return. When India batted, the Aussie spinners couldn’t make similar inroads in the little time they had on Day 1. Over the years, while spin has been a potent weapon for India at home, most touring teams have struggled to make succeeding in Indian conditions an inherent part of their cricketing DNA.
Pace over spin
This century, before this series, Australia played six Test series in India. The first of those was the narrow miss in 2001. Steve Waugh, then captain of a supreme team, called India “the final frontier”. A natural extension of that side won the next time around in 2004, but not since. One reason is spin. In the 21 Tests played by Australia this century in India, their spinners accounted for 38% of their overs bowled and 40% of Indian wickets. By comparison, Indian spinners accounted for 70% of overs bowled and 74% of Australian wickets.
In other words, in temperate weather conditions and on generally turning tracks, Indian bowlers were able to manage bowling loads better and also be more effective. That spin differential is not unique to Australia in India. It exists for five of the six countries that have played at least 10 Tests in India this century, the exception being subcontinent neighbour Sri Lanka. And it’s the most pronounced in the case of South Africa and Australia.
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Two series wins
Bowling averages are another metric that highlight the comparatively lower degree of effectiveness of spinners touring India this century, and conversely the greater faith placed by them in pacers. As many as five of the six countries have seen their spinners concede more runs per wicket than their pace bowlers. Once again, the exception is Sri Lanka. In Australia’s case, spinners have averaged 36 per wicket against 34 for pacers.
The two series losses suffered by India at home during this period tells two different bowling stories by visitors. When Australia beat India in 2004, their three-pronged pace attack of Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz accounted for 67% of the overs bowled and 63% of Indian wickets. Conversely, England’s series win over India in 2012 was shaped by its spinners, with Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar picking up 71% of Indian wickets. In other words, the successes were a shaped a pace battery that grinded away in one instance and a quality spin tandem in the second instance.
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Class is everywhere
At the very top, the reliance of top touring sides on their pacers, rather than spinners, is more pronounced. There are four pacers in the list of top 10 touring wicket-takers in Tests in India and 10 pacers in the list of top 20 wicket-takers. The top touring wicket-takers are Australian spinner Nathan Lyon and English pacer James Anderson, with 34 wickets apiece. They are followed by the Australian pace duo of McGrath and Gillespie.
Interestingly, the touring pacers who have been the most prolific in India have been more potent in these conditions than the top touring spinners. Three of the top five pacers by wickets – McGrath, Gillespie and Dale Steyn of South Africa – have better bowling averages than even the touring leaders among spinners. That is as a testament to their fast-bowling pedigree and to the craft of Indian batsmen in negotiating touring spinners in home conditions.
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Lone ranger Lyon
This is where it gets difficult for this Australian side. At present, their pace attack is beset by injuries to Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood, and their spinning portfolio might not have enough. In Nathan Lyon, Australia have a spinner who has matched the best Indian spinners in terms of wicket-taking frequency. In India, Lyon has taken a wicket every 52 balls (before this series), and slots in only after R Ashwin (47 balls).
By comparison, India has been a fairly humbling experience this century even for two spinning greats who are also the highest wicket-takers in the history of test cricket: Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (wicket per 75 balls) and Shane Warne of Australia (73 balls). That is the magnitude of challenge for sides touring India.
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