Today : India spin debate still alive

With India on the verge of wrapping up the first Test, it is the Aussies who are groaning in despair, Ravichandran Ashwin having tied their batsmen in knots and their pace-oriented bowling coming unstuck. But one can feel a gentle rumble in the India corner too over their spin combination.

India had taken a big decision to leave out Pragyan Ojha despite the left-arm spinner having emerged the hosts' leading wicket-taker against a tougher England in the 1-2 series defeat.
The argument was that with four of the Aussie top six being left-handed batsmen, an extra off-spinner would do greater damage. But Harbhajan Singh, in his 100th Test, managed only three wickets and has not been the kind of threat he was in the past on such turning tracks. Ravindra Jadeja's left-arm spin and batting credentials also initially won the argument over Ojha, but he failed with the bat and did not make a huge impact with the ball........ Read More