MUMBAI: India's first-ever home Test series defeat to New Zealand has highlighted a new vulnerability: Indian top-order batsmen, once known for neutralising visiting spinners (with Shane Warne being a notable example), are now as susceptible to spin as any other team in the world.
In the second Test in Pune, Kiwis' left arm spinner Mitchell Santner exposed India's struggles on a rank turner. Santner's 13-wicket haul led New Zealand to a 113-run win within three days.
In a similar scenario seven years ago at the same MCA Stadium, Australian left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe made a dream debut by taking 12 wickets, which powered them to a 333-run win. On that occasion, India was bowled out for 105 and 107 across two innings.
Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar feels that one reason India's batting now collapses regularly on turning tracks is that their batsmen don't play enough domestic cricket to enhance their skills against the spinners.
"Unless you play domestic cricket, you'll not master the skills of playing spinners. I'm not talking about just playing on turning tracks, but also playing spin well. This is why it's important that everyone should be available to play domestic cricket. Also, when you have these Under-19 and India A tours on, at a time when international cricket is happening, it dilutes the importance of domestic cricket," Vengsarkar told TOI on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Vengsarkar lauded the Kiwis' for pulling off the stunning series win. "It's an historic and a well-deserved win for the Kiwis. What's important is that they knew what's expected of them to win the series in India and they came here very well-prepared as they outclassed India."