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Neither Virat was sweeping, nor Dhoni, only Sachin was: Mushtaq Ahmed reveals why England won in India in 2012
Graeme Swann who played in all 4 Test matches of the series in 2012 picked up 19 wickets and Panesar, who came into the XI from the second Test in Mumbai, 17 wickets in 3 Tests.
India’s dream run in international cricket across formats nosedived after their World Cup triumph in 2011. The MS Dhoni-led side then lost 8 consecutive Test matches in their away tours in England and Australia. England’s tour to India in 2012, therefore was seen as an opportunity for India to turn the tide and avenge their 0-4 drubbing a year ago to Alastair Cook’s men. But as things panned out, England staged a dramatic turn around after losing the first Test in Ahmedabad to win successive Tests in Mumbai – by 10 wickets and in Kolkata – by 7 wickets to take the series 2-1 as the last match at Nagpur was drawn. It was England’s first Test series win in India in 27 years.
What was pitted as the show of Indian spinners turned out to be a feast for the England ones as Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar gave a torrid time to the Indian batting line-up comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.
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8 years after their famous series win in India due to some brilliant performances by spinners Swann and Panaser, pacer James Anderson and batsmen Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen, England’s spin bowling coach during that time and former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed revealed the reasons behind the visitors’ success.
Mushtaq who was a part of the England support staff since 2008, said India’s focus was on tackling James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steve Finn, which allowed Panesar and Swann to work their magic.
Mushtaq also highlighted that none of the Indian batsmen were ready to play the sweep to upset the rhythm of England spinners. Only Sachin Tendulkar was the exception as the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni preferred to play orthodox shots.
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“We won in 2012 because we knew what fields to set, what pace to bowl at. Neither Virat was sweeping nor Dhoni. Only Sachin was there. The Indians were focussing on England seamers but the spinners surprised them,” Mushtaq told PTI.
Graeme Swann who played in all 4 Test matches of the series picked up 19 wickets and Panesar, who came into the XI from the second Test in Mumbai, took 17 wickets in 3 Tests.
Panesar had picked up 11 wickets in the second Test in Mumbai with five-fors in both innings.
Mushtaq said Swann and Panesar were more successful than India’s R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha as they were quicker through the air.
“Swann and Panesar were much quicker in the air than their Indian counterparts and that was the reason for their success,” Mushtaq added.
