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India vs South Africa 2015, 4th Test: Feroz Shah Kotla not likely to offer respite to spin-ravaged visitors

The South African's will have to dig in deep if they are to evade decimation in the final Test.

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Ravichandran Ashwin has already announced his intentions to compound South Africa's misery © AFP
Ravichandran Ashwin has already announced his intentions to compound South Africa’s misery © AFP

South Africa‘s 9-year undefeated streak in away Test series was brought to a thudding close at a square turner in Nagpur with India taking the 4-match series 2-0. South Africa will look to salvage some pride by seeking out a consolatory win in the final Test at Feroz Shah Kotla, but that is a distinct possibility as the Delhi pitch has also traditionally favoured spin bowling which has proven South Africa’s Achilles heel in the series. If they are to win they will have to work out a way to effectively play on a rank turner. SCORECARD: India vs South Africa 2015, 4th Test at Feroz Shah Kotla

South Africa have been thoroughly undone by the rank turners so far. They owe it to the rain for the series scoreline could have read 3-0 by now. The match at Bengaluru saw no play for 4 days which gave the visitors a draw. However, they were terribly exposed in their incompetence to deal with spinners on dustbowls at Mohali and Nagpur. The story is not likely to be different at Kotla for the fourth and concluding Test.

The top 7 leading wicket-takers at Kotla in the last 10 years are all spinners, of which 2 present India team members occupy spots. Ravichandran Ashwin is second on the list with 16 wickets from just two matches, while Ravindra Jadeja occupies the seventh spot with 7 wickets from just 1 game against Australia in 2013. ALSO READ: Finally, an end to South Africa’s glorious nine-year run in Test cricket

Leading wicket-takers at Feroz Shah Kotla

Bowler Matches Runs Wickets Average Economy Strike Rate
Anil Kumble 3 389 20 19.45 2.43 48
Ravichandran Ashwin 2 240 16 15 2.44 36.7
Pragyan Ojha 2 203 10 20.3 2.37 51.3
Nathan Lyon 1 165 9 18.33 4.26 25.7
Muttiah Muralitharan 1 218 8 27.25 2.84 57.5
Harbhajan Singh 2 230 7 32.85 3.15 62.4
Ravindra Jadeja 1 98 7 14 2.17 38.5

The most recent game at Feroz Shah Kotla was between India and Australia from the 2013 series. Off the 34 wickets to fall in that game, which the home team won by 6 wickets, 29 were taken by spinners! Jadeja and Ashwin  shared 14 wickets between them. They will be looking for another statistical boost at the prospect of bowling there again.

In the match, second most recent game at Kotla, which was between India and West Indies in 2011 the ratio of spin bowler wickets to fast bowler wickets sees a dip. Off the 35 wickets that fell in the game, 21 were scalped by spinners, which is still a convincing majority. Yet, it is further encouraging for India that Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha shared 16 wickets between them with Ashwin scalping a total of 9 in the game.

So, it is evident that in modern times, spinners have ruled the roost at Kotla. Moreover, the predominant theme of this series has been square turners and it is unlikely Kotla will be an exception. Everything indicates that spinners are going to make merry at Kotla yet again. Will South Africa be better prepared to counter the twirlers’ assault this time about? It is difficult to imagine a drastic turnaround. Indians will be eyeing the 3-0 scoreline and it is going to be a daunting task for the visitors to evade it.

(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)

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