Ian Chappell analyses how hard is it to play in India

Team Australia is all set to tour India for a long 4 match Test series. They have had a terrible run in India in the recent past. Considering the dominion of India in home conditions, things do not better for them this time either. In a recent column for the Mid Day, former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell analyzed how hard it is to play in India. He started off with a piece of information. India has lost only one out of the last 20 home series.

The last time they lost a home series was in 2012 against England. Australia last won a series in India back in 2004. Ian Chappell credited the Indian team for their success of home. This comes given the fact that overseas players frequently tour India for the IPL and hence are often aware about the conditions. Despite that, if India manages to be a strong force at home, they deserve all the praise. India has lost only one out of the last 20 home series.

“Is it really that hard playing in India? Well, it is if you by the records. Amazingly, India has lost only one of its last 20 series at home and that was to England in 2012-13. Before that, it was Australia in 2004-05 when India felt the sting of defeat at home. What makes this feat even more remarkable is that many of the overseas players now regularly tour India playing in the highly successful IPL tournament,” wrote Ian Chappell.

One of the key reasons for India’s supremacy at home has been the success of the spinners. Currently, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been the top two bowlers for India in Tests. Chappell cited that there have always been match winning spinners for the Indian side. Also, the batting line up of the current Indian team is very strong. To go with it, they have improved a great deal in their fielding kudos to the IPL.

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“There’s no doubt India has a strong batting line-up but that’s been the case for more than two decades. Since the advent of the IPL, India’s fielding (apart from slip catching) and athleticism has improved greatly,” said Chappell.

“However, spin bowling, which has been the chief reason behind the demise of visiting teams, is another matter. From the late 1960s into the mid-1970s India were extremely well served with Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, a trio of wily, highly competitive spinners,” he added further.

Advising the touring Aussies, Ian Chappell mentioned that they should get rid of the misconception that sweep shot is the rescue shot in India. He cited that combating spinners come from learning to have good footwork. He concluded that they will have to be very wary of Ashwin and company if they want to succeed in India.

“There’s an obsession with sweeping, which in all but rare cases is not the way to dominate good spinners who are well captained. Combating good spinners is about learning the lesson of quick decisive footwork at a young age, rather than cramming for a difficult exam at the last minute. If the Australian batsmen are in the pavilion, unsure or confused about how to play R Ashwin and company, the crowd noise will have a ring to it that sounds a lot like that dreaded cry; Bring out your dead,” concluded the former Aussie cricketer.