“It has been tough. But there are not many things that will come close to when we lost the 2007 50-over World Cup.”
That was what a dejected MS Dhoni said to the press after a draw in the fourth Test at Nagpur yielded a 2-1 Test series win for England in 2012.
India had been whitewashed in the Test series in England and Australia leading up to the 2012-13 home series against England. A series defeat at home was certainly a new low with questions being raised about the skipper and the players in general.
It was an England team who were supposed to be spun out of the series by the Indian bowlers. Quite predictably, India prepared spin-friendly tracks throughout the series, which proved to be their own graveyard as the England spinners outperformed their Indian counterparts.
More importantly, England did to their opposition batsmen just what was expected of the Indian bowlers – they spun a web around them. Never before had a group of Indian batsmen looked so clueless against spin on their home turf. The irony was not lost on the Indian spectators.
England’s captain Alastair Cook was in supreme form in that series back in 2012 as he was the highest run-getter with 562, which included three centuries and two half-centuries. Chesteshwar Pujara was the backbone of the Indian batting, with his two centuries and a massive double century in the first Test.
In 8 test matches vs India in India, Cook has scored 4 centuries, 3 fifties with an average of 61.85. Watch out for him. #INDvENG
— HW Cricket App🏏 (@holdingwilley) November 6, 2016
After receiving a battering in the first Test, Cook’s men put in the hard yards and dug deep to make a dream comeback. While Cook and Kevin Pietersen persevered with the bat, the consistent James Anderson ran in spell after spell to produce crucial breakthroughs for England whenever it was necessary.
But the man who changed it all was Monty Panesar, who had been left out of the first Test – a decision that the then-England coach Andy Flower later admitted was a grave mistake. The introduction of Panesar had an uplifting effect as he ran through the Indian top order in the second Test.
He followed up his five-for in the first innings with six wickets in the second and India did not know what had hit them. Graeme Swann, the joint-highest wicket-taker in the series with 20 scalps to his name, was also more than a handful for the Indian batsmen.
The big question going into this series four years later, is if Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid can do what Panesar and Swann managed back then. The proposition seems highly unlikely; Swann was at the top of his abilities back then, widely regarded as one of the foremost spinners in the world.
Rashid and Ali in comparison are still considered to be bowling all-rounders. Immensely useful in limited overs cricket, in the longer format of the game they haven’t always been consistent, but have thrown in a few memorable performances to their credit.
One such occasion was the third Test at Southampton in 2014 when India succumbed to Ali’s spin while chasing a big total in the second innings. Ali ran through the Indian top order, coming away with six wickets and sparking a dramatic turnaround in the series after they had lost the Lord’s Test.
India went on to lose the series and Moeen Ali managed to grab 19 wickets at an average of 23. There is no doubt that England will be banking on him once again to deliver the goods in the upcoming series.
The Indian team in 2016, though, is distinctly different from the one four years earlier. The team was going through a transitional phase with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in the twilight of their careers.
Dhoni was struggling with his captaincy in Tests and Virat Kohli had not yet completely arrived in the Test arena. He was someone with incredible talent who filled in at number five. Compare that to what he is now and you will get a measure of the miles he has travelled since then.
Coming into this series, the Indian team look like a well-set unit who are prepared to face the challenges that England will throw at them. And Kohli’s incredible form – ridiculous might be a better word for it – might well be the single biggest factor that could make a difference in the series.
Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have only grown in stature and together they form a commanding middle order that for the first time is no longer nostalgic about the absence of the big four. Against England, Kohli averages an embarrassing 20.13 from nine Tests, much of which has to do with his nightmarish England tour in 2014 during which he repeatedly nicked swinging deliveries to the slip cordon.
That seems like a long time ago now, however, and Kohli in his current form can make England pay whenever he gets his eye in. He will be pleased by the fact that England will be without James Anderson, at least for the first Test, whose ability to extract reverse swing in sub-continental conditions often makes him the most vital cog among the English quicks.
England will rely heavily on Stuart Broad and on Cook and Joe Root in the batting department, but the lack of experience of the other squad members in India might well be a telling factor.
India do have the stronger team on paper and the man who might well be the difference in the end is Ravichandran Ashwin. Having single-handedly demolished opponents in Indian conditions in the recent past, the biggest challenge that the English batsmen will face is how to counter Ashwin.
.@HaseebHameed97 getting a long way forward! pic.twitter.com/qhUIKl6dDp
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 4, 2016
He is likely to ensure that the English spinners do not outperform their Indian counterparts on this tour. In fact, it is Ashwin and Kohli, two players who have improved drastically over the past four years, who best demonstrate why India are a considerably stronger team now.
Both of them played in the 2012-13 tour, but the differences are discernible. Four years later, a team comprising of younger players is playing an aggressive brand of cricket that has taken India to the number one spot on the Test rankings. This team is not searching for an identity.
India’s unbeaten streak at home is the best in the world at the current moment, with the home team remaining undefeated since the start of 2013, having won 12 of the 13 Tests played in India since.
The visitors, on the other hand, come to India on the back of a 2-2 draw against Pakistan and a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh.
Cook’s young boys might face their sternest Test in this series against a team that is playing at the best of their abilities at the moment. 2012 might still be a dream for England, but it will take some doing to repeat that again.
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