Teamwork gives real spin to win

INDORE: The topic of home advantage comes up every time India’s success in Tests comes up for discussion. Spin-friendly wickets have become the norm and visiting

INDORE: The topic of home advantage comes up every time India’s success in Tests comes up for discussion. Spin-friendly wickets have become the norm and visiting teams in the past few years have invariably got pitches that have loose soil on top and take spin from Day 1.

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While the India-New Zealand series didn’t see rank turners like last year’s South Africa Tests, there was still turn on offer and India, led by R Ashwin, made the most of it. However, Ashwin’s 27 wickets should not take away from the fact that almost every department of the team played a part in the 3-0 sweep.

BATTING TOO CLICKED

In Kanpur, the batsmen laid the platform for the spinners to exploit on a slow, turning track. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara gave a positive start and Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja landed lusty blows in the end. Ashwin and Jadeja then sealed victory.

In Kolkata, with dampness in the wicket, pacers had the most impact. A five-wicket-haul by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and three by Mohammed Shami saw the Kiwis dismissed for 204 after India made 316. Shami was aided by Ashwin and Jadeja to seal the deal in the second innings.

At Indore, it was the turn of the middle-order as Virat Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane (188) scored the first two tons of the series. Pujara took the game away from the Kiwis with a century in the second innings, giving the bowlers freedom to attack. Ashwin obliged with a career-best 7/59.

“We knew before the series that people are going to start talking about pitches. But we knew there are monsoons everywhere, wickets are not going to be as dry… We didn’t say anything once. We believe in our abilities, we should be good enough to do it on any surface and against any team,” Kohli said after the match. The batting too was impressive. The Indore Test saw Kohli and Rahane produce a brilliant partnership on a wicket with unpredictable bounce. India crossed 400 in an innings for the first time since 2013.

The only worry will be injuries. KL Rahul (hamstring), Shikhar Dhawan (hand) and Bhuvneshwar (back) were all sidelined.

With the England Test series starting early next month, these performances could prove crucial. England are the only team to beat India at home in the last few years.

Kohli said: “It (win over NZ) is a step in the right direction...We believe in our skills much more, and don’t focus on creating atmosphere or conditions which might suit us partially. We finished two games in four days on perfectly fine Test pitches. That gives us a lot of confidence.”