Published: Feb 01, 2015, 06:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 01, 2015, 08:20 AM (IST)
Moeen Ali continues with his incorrigible wicket-taking streak against India even as the hapless Dhoni and co. crashed out of the tri-series with a loss at Perth. Moeen’s assiduous success is symptomatic of the innate insecurity of the Indian batsmen who were once upon a time the undisputed pharaohs of spin bowling. Ankur Dhawan analyses India’s Achilles heel of recent times.
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Moeen made two incisive blows which broke the rhythm and backbone of the Indian innings by snapping Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina at the most opportune hour for England. He finished with figures of two for 35 in his 10 overs. Mind you, this was not a dustbowl in Mumbai; it was the WACA at Perth. The bowler in question averages close to 40 in both First-Class and List A cricket. This apparently innocuous off-spinner mysteriously transforms into a fire-breathing salamander when pitted against India. Is this the coming of age of one who is derisively dismissed as a pie-chucker? Or is it the first symptom of an affliction that threatens to erode a legacy of spin domination? One is compelled to believe the latter.
The first cracks had begun to show on India’s forgettable summer in England. Barring the game at Trent Bridge, India encountered archetypal English conditions in the ensuing four Tests. Yet, it was Moeen who wreaked havoc; it was Moeen who helped England level the series with an eight wicket haul at Southampton. India could not take refuge in the truism that a solitary sparrow does not make a summer.
The pinpricks continued with Moeen needling India as the series progressed. It was a classic David vs Goliath tale that unfolded, and we had not seen the end of it yet. Pundits had not given Moeen a chance, but he somehow turned the tables on India and had them prancing like a grasshopper, a malady which revisited India in the recently concluded Tri-Series. He had concluded the Test series with 19 wickets at an average of 23. Shane Warne would have given up Liz Hurley (er, has he done that already?) to have those enviable numbers on his CV.
It is also true that Indians are notorious for capitulating against relatively unknown quantities and have generously contributed in kick-starting many-a glorious career. But in the past, it was met with vengeful retaliation. Ajantha Mendis is a case in point and he was always a bit of an enigma. But in the case of Moeen, Indians have developed a mental block. In the time that the Indian batsmen took to transgress from a state of self-denial to recognising the shortcomings that had engulfed them, Moeen had sneaked up on them like a Kudzu Vine and now he has the Indians on a leash.
Moeen’s recrudescing incursions into the Indian psyche had a cascading effect. The beneficiary was a struggling Nathan Lyon during the four Tests in Australia. Lyon, who could not buy a wicket in the UAE, was instrumental in Australia emerging triumphant in the four-Test series. He bowled the Australians to victory at Adelaide, a Test that could have swung either way. It reaffirmed India’s susceptibility to off-spin bowling.
The Indians need to clean up the attic and get rid of the emotional clutter. The instinct to attack the spinner from the outset had held previous generations in good stead, but the recurring subjugation at the hands of Moeen and Lyon — most recently in Australia — has buried the instincts of the current lot six feet under. The Indians have meekly poked and prodded, or unconvincingly charged down the wicket, as Suresh Raina’s dismissal at The Gabba epitomised. Furthermore the tentativeness in tackling the off-spinners is baffling when you consider that India has a plethora of right-handers in the line-up. It points to mental disintegration and perhaps even the end of an old and proud lineage of batsmen who sent shivers down the spine of finger spinners.
(Ankur Dhawan is a reporter with CricketCountry. Heavily influenced by dystopian novels, he naturally has about 59 conspiracy theories for every moment in the game of cricket. On finding a direct link between his head and the tip of his fingers, he also writes about it)
