Of Mind Games And Brain Fade

In no other sport do 바카라�home conditions바카라� weigh as much materially as in cricket. When it comes to Indian pitches they, almost as a rule, are prepared to suit spinners, the home team바카라�s long-standing strength. So, the pitches dished out for the first two Tests against Australia in the ongoing series were no different, though the first one in Pune looked utterly underprepared. Successive Indian captains have supported the theory that Indian pitches should be made to assist slow bowlers; in that respect, Virat Kohli is no different. Kohli, armed with those slow-shooting 바카라�Kalashnikovs바카라�바카라�Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, is happy that these two have played prominent roles in winning the second Test in Bangalore, levelling the series 1-1. So, he said, there was no need to change this gameplan. 바카라�Yes, spinners have been outstanding, and they will look to back their strengths and dominate the home season as they have done so far. If guys are picking six-wicket hauls why would you change anything?바카라� he said, when Outlook asked him about spinners바카라� domination this season.

Kohli has good reasons to back his words. The statistics, too, support his policy. Spinners바카라�particularly Indians바카라�have dominated batsmen in the 11 Tests played so far this home season. A total of 371 wickets have fallen till the end of the Bangalore Test; 235 have been captured by spinners바카라�a 63.34 per cent share. Leading the charge down the wicket are, of course, Ashwin and Jadeja. So, Kohli바카라�s reliance on them is unsurprising. Toge­ther, Indian spinners바카라�the rampaging duo and others바카라�have bagged 141 of the 213 wickets of all opponent teams this season. Of these 141 wickets, Ashwin (76 scalps) and Jadeja바카라�s (58) share is an overwhelming 134 wickets, or 95.03 per cent.

India is a haven of turn, and so the four teams to have visited India바카라�New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia바카라�this winter-spring have heavily banked on their spinners too. For INS­tance, Aussie left-armer Steve O바카라�Keefe and offie Nathan Lyon have snared 15 and 13 wickets, respectively, in the first two Tests in the ongoing series. Ashwin, on the other hand, has 15 and Jadeja 12. After the second Test, Jadeja climbed to a career-best No.1 position on the ICC Test rankings. Their absolute dominance is reflected by this miraculous fact바카라�Ashwin and Jadeja now jointly occ­upy the perch.

Former India wicket-keeper-batsman Farokh Engineer says spinners are always expected to lead the onslaught on opposition batsmen. 바카라�Ashwin got a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Bangalore Test (6/41), but we would expect that spinners would do the maximum damage,바카라� Engineer tells Outlook. Simon Katich, the former Australia batsman, says Australia바카라�s main concern was how their batsmen would tackle Indian spinners. He points out that the 0-3 drubbing in the three-Test series in Sri Lanka last year shook the Austra­lian team, whose highest second innings total in Lanka was a puny 183. 바카라�Our biggest challenge was how we batted in these [Indian] conditions, given what had happened in Sri Lanka last year, when the batsmen really struggled. We bowled pretty well in Sri Lanka; Mitchell Starc was the standout. But we didn바카라�t get enough runs to put pressure on the opposition,바카라� says Katich, now ass­istant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders.

The pitch, naturally, became the focal point of attention at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. But, fortunately, after the initial scare, it played true바카라�barring the occasional ball that kept low바카라�till the end. That the Test got over well inside four days couldn바카라�t be attributed to a poor pitch; it was due to batsmen바카라�s inability to tackle the web of spin adeptly, as  also spinners바카라� varied skills. Engineer is not happy with the overall pitch policy. 바카라�I think we should prepare more sporting pitches. Sporting pitches give a batsman and a bowler even chances, not like the wicket in Pune; it was disgraceful, not fit for a Test. But this was a more sporty wicket; it gave both sides an edge. Although it finished inside four days, it was a very absorbing Test where both teams had a good chance of winning,바카라� he says.

India바카라�s rank turners are the handiwork of pitch curators who, as a lengthy home season approaches, have to tackle the immense pressure bearing down upon them. A member of the BCCI바카라�s pitches and grounds committee puts the matter in perspective: 바카라�India is playing 13 Test matches this season at home. They have won nine and one was drawn. So what if they lost one match?바카라�

When foreign teams visit India their batsmen apparently start with a handicap. They seemed to be bothered by two factors: Indian pitches and Indian spinners. In that context, the Pune def­eat would be regarded as an aberration for India바카라�fatigue and complacency could be cited as reasons for the reversal. Why, Ashwin and Jadeja once again showed their class in Bangalore! And Kohli has already dropped hints that for the next Test in Ranchi, starting March 16, the pitch could again assist spinners. 바카라�We can바카라�t do much about the Ranchi pitch. It has always been slow and low. They know exactly what to expect there and we know how the wicket will play as well. It바카라�s how you mentally prepare and what kind of zone you are in as a team. This was the kind of game that we needed to forget that hiccup in Pune and then move forward as a pack,바카라� Kohli said after the win in Bangalore.

So far as India바카라�s spin arsenal is concerned, it is not limited to Ashwin and Jadeja. The bench strength too is enviable. This is evident from a quality leg-spinner like Amit Mishra not fitting into Kohli바카라�s horses-for-courses policy. Off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who played the first Test in Pune and earned kudos from Kohli and uncapped Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav are also in the squad. Among the KKR youngsters he has worked with during last year바카라�s IPL, Katich picked Kuldeep for praise. And among the tweakers knocking at the doors of the sel­ection committee are Shahbaz Nadeem, a left-armer from Jharkhand who was the top spinner, with 61 wickets, in this domestic season. Then, leg-spinner Karn Sharma, who has already played Test and ODI cricket, left-armer Shadab Jakati and off-spinner Parveez Rasool are also on the selectors바카라� radar. All three are among the top wicket takers of this first-class season, with over 40 scalps each.

While all seems well on the spin front, the Decision Review System (DRS) is again a debating point. Kohli would like to use the DRS more judiciously and successfully. 바카라�There are loopholes in every technology and system; there바카라�re no two ways about it. People are bound to make mistakes. At the moment, the call that바카라�s made on the field stays, and that바카라�s what everyone is playing with, and there바카라�ve been a few instances where it has been a little tricky. Benefit of doubt used to go to the batsman before, but now that seems to have gone out of the window and we have also not been that consistent with taking the right DRS calls,바카라� he feels. Eng­ineer said

India should use the DRS option carefully. 바카라�Virat was plumb LBW (off pacer Josh Hazlewood in the second innings in Bangalore); I don바카라�t know why he wasted it. We should learn not to waste it. You don바카라�t get many chances. You바카라�ve got to make the best of it.바카라�

Interestingly, it was the use of DRS that raised a storm on the fourth and final day of the Bangalore Test. When umpire Nig­el Llong acted swiftly and stopped Australia captain Steve Smith from seeking assistance from the team바카라�s dressing room, all hell broke loose. Kohli said in his post-match press conference that Llong, a former English first-class cricketer-turned-umpire, knew the reason of Smith delaying his departure after being given out as he (Kohli) had informed the umpires and the ICC match referee Chris Broad about Australians unfai­rly taking help from their dressing room vis-a-vis the DRS. Smith chose to desc­ribe his unlawful act as a 바카라�brain fade바카라�. But Kohli was not impressed. 바카라�I saw that happening twice when I was batting out there. I pointed it out to the umpire as well바카라�that it바카라�s happened twice, that I바카라�ve seen their players looking upstairs for con­­firmation, and that바카라�s why the umpire was at him (Smith).바카라� When an Austra­lian reporter asked Kohli if he intended to use the word 바카라�cheating바카라�, he shot back archly: 바카라�I didn바카라�t say that. You did.바카라�

The BCCI posted the video of Smith바카라�s dismissal and his 바카라�act바카라� on its official website and facebook wall, and as if to rub salt into his wounds titled it the 바카라�Dressing Room Review System바카라�. The 2.36 minute video has so far been watched and liked by thousands. The Board issued a statement fully backing the Indian captain.

The ICC introduced DRS for more acc­uracy in decisions that umpires make. The BCCI, under former president N. Srinivasan and till recently under Anurag Thakur, has been reluctant to acc­ept the DRS for home matches, as home boards have the option to not adopt it. But bef­ore the start of the 2016-17 home series against England, the BCCI ann­ounced that it would use the DRS on a 바카라�trial basis to evaluate the improvements made to the system over a period of time바카라�. This season, the BCCI decided to embrace the DRS, though without the Hot Spot technology, and it has been used in the series England, Bangladesh and Australia. India has obv­iously not fared well with DRS so far and Kohli has no qualms in admitting his weakness.

Apart from that irritant, the Indian team has been in such supreme form this season that Pune can be regarded as an aberration, albeit a striking one. And now with two Tests left in the series, Kohli would like to finish off the home season with wins in Ranchi and Dharamshala. And with Smith cornered over the unsavoury incident, India will start with an added psychological advantage in Ranchi. Millions of Indian fans are licking their chops, expecting to send a beaten Australia down under.

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali in Bangalore