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From Rangana Herath and Monty Panesar to now Mitchell Santner, how left-arm spin has proved to be answer to threat of India

Here are the numbers behind each and every left-arm spinner and their success against India. Take a deep dive into the real reason why India struggles against left-arm spinners

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26th October 2024 will go down as one of the dark days in Indian cricket. New Zealand have done what the all-conquering Australians or the Baz-Ball of England couldn’t. Tom Latham’s side have beaten India in their own backyard. It took one visiting team nearly 12 years to pull off this feat but it was worth it. 

Mitchell Santner has always been called as the perfect teamman in New Zealand cricket circles. The veteran star came into the Test having played over 25 games without picking a fifer. By the end of the Pune Test, Santner had picked 13 wickets in the game to help his side win the contest. 

The 32-year-old gave India eerie memories of the 2017 Test held at the same venue. Australia had beaten India by a massive margin of 333 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. In the end, it was Steve O Keefe who did the star turn with figures of 12/70 in the game. The Australian spinner took 6/35 in each innings to render India their biggest loss at home. 

Not just Mitchell Santner and Steve O Keefe, but even the likes of Rangana Herath and Monty Panesar have troubled India in the past. In the last decade and a half, some of the best Indian batters haven’t been able to be as proficient against left-arm spinner. This, despite having some huge names in the form of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Pragyan Ojha previously bowling in the nets. 

Does India have a problem against left-arm spin?

Gone are the days when Sourav Ganguly or Virender Sehwag would step down the track and loft left-arm spinners over their heads. The days of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar using their wristy flicks or sweeps are sorely missed. Even forgotten Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has batted well against the left-arm spinners. 

With 13 out of the 20 wickets going to Mitchell Santner in Pune, and two taken by Ajaz Patel there is a huge problem. Most of the Indian batters are reluctant to use their feet against the left-arm finger spinners. This is where someone like Sehwag and even current India coach Gautam Gambhir excelled. 

In their prime, the two Delhi batters would disturb the lengths right from the word go. Once the bowler loses his rhythm the batters find it easy to milk the bowlers for runs. In the current set-up, some of the most established players of spin like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli go into their shells early. The onus is on survival rather than scoring runs which plays into the hands of the bowlers. 

Name

Matches

Wickets

Best

5W

10W

Mitchell Santner

4

24

7/53

2

1

Rangana Herath

11

33

7/48

2

0

Monty Paesar

11

36

6/81

2

1

Steve O Keefe

4

19

6/35

2

1

Take a closer look at Mitchell Santner’s record. Before this Test, the 32-year-old had played 28 games and picked 54 wickets without a fifer. In the 4 Tests against India, the veteran star has picked 24 wickets, including 13 in Pune. In the previous three games, Santner had picked 11 wickets to trouble the Indian batters. 

Rangana Herath played just 11 games against India but he has also troubled the Indian batters in the 2010’s. His spell of 7/48 in Galle ensured that the home team secured a win after having their backs against the wall for most part of the encounter. His wickets that day included KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and R. Ashwin. 

In 2012, when Alastair Cook and his England side humbled India at home, the credit for the win went to Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. After being benched for the first Test in Ahmedabad that England lost, Panesar picked 17 wickets in five innings. 15 of those came in successive innings. 5/129 and 6/81 in Mumbai and 4/90 and 1/75 in Kolkata. The case of Steven O Keefe is also similar. His even figures of 6/35 in both innings showed his mastery over the likes of Virat Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, and KL Rahul. 

Rohit Sharma against left-arm spinners has been dismissed by on 20 occasions from his 108 innings. So, in effect, India’s skipper falls to the left-arm spinners once in every five innings. On most occasions, Rohit has been out bowled or LBW which shows his defensive approach to the game when taking on left-arm spinners.

Virat Kohli had success against left-arm spinners early. The former Indian skipper too has been out to the left-arm spin variant on 20 occasions. Just like his illustrious, Indian teammate, Virat Kohli has been out bowled or LBW on most occasions. 

So, what is the remedy to this malaise? The answer is simple. Team India and its management have to get the batters ready to use their feet option. There is an element of risk involved, but there is also a larger reward in the risk. With the series done and dusted, India only has pride to play for. Hopefully, the home team can come out and do well and put rest to the ghosts of left-arm spin behind. 

Virat Kohli Gautam Gambhir Rohit Sharma Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid Sourav Ganguly VVS Laxman Mitchell Santner India vs New Zealand
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