File image of Virat Kohli.© X (Twitter)
Former New Zealand cricketer and broadcaster Simon Doull lambasted Indian batters for their poor batting performance against spinners Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips during the second Test against New Zealand at Pune, saying that it is a misconception that modern Indian players are good against tweakers, rather they are as vulnerable as overseas batters on good turning tracks. A shambolic batting performance during the first inning of the Pune Test might have just put the hosts India at a rare risk of a series loss home and has put their 12-year, 18 series-long unbeaten record at in jeopardy.
Speaking after India's innings on air, Doull said that the it is not true that Indian players currently are as good as against spin as their older counterparts in Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid etc. He said even during the Indian Premier League (IPL), whenever pitches turn, players complain about it.
"I think it is a misconception around the world now that these modern Indian players are better playing spin than anyone else. They are not. They are the same as everyone else around the world. Gone are the days of Ganguly, Gambhir, Laxman and Dravid. Sachin was so, so good against spin, and the era before them. I think good quality spinners are just as good as getting India out on turning tracks as Indian spinners against good quality opposition batters. And the moment they see a turning track in IPL, they complain," he said.
Coming to the match, NZ won the toss and opted to bat first. It was half-centuries from Devon Conway (76 in 141 balls, with 11 fours) and Rachin Ravindra (65 in 105 balls, with five fours and a six) that gave Kiwis a huge platform before Washington's seven-fer triggered a collapse, taking NZ from 197/3 to 259 all out. Ashwin (3/64) also delivered a fine spell with the ball.
India was 16/1 at the end of day one's play. On day two, Mitchell Santner triggered a massive batting collapse with his figures of 7/53, bundling out India for just 156 runs and giving NZ a lead of 103 runs. Ravindra Jadeja (38 in 45 balls, with three fours and two sixes), Shubman Gill (30 in 72 balls, with two fours and a six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30 in 60 balls, with four boundaries) played some decent knocks.
NZ is in their second innings and would like to take the lead as far as possible to set a formidable target for India and hand them a rare series loss at home after 12 years.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)