Five Overseas Spinners Who Delivered In Indian Conditions In Tests

India is undoubtedly one of the toughest backyards for the overseas teams to thrive in. Due to the expertise of the Indian batsmen in playing spin and the superlative quality of spinners produced, they easily sweep aside the touring sides more often than not. Hence, visiting parties have to be at their best at all times in all aspects if they are to outclass the Indian team on their turf.

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Over the years, not many outfits as a team have tasted success in India, especially in Test cricket. However, a handful of spin-bowlers have stood tall over the Indian batsmen. These spinners read and exploited the conditions correctly to stun the hosts in their own game. Such bowling spells have become the blueprint for other sides, which have aimed to oust the men in blue.

We take a look at five overseas spinners, who knocked India out on their home soil:

Michael Clarke – 6/9, Bengaluru 2004

It was Michael Clarke’s debut series, and he couldn’t have asked for a better start, scoring a century in his first Test in a winning effort. By the time Australia and India headed to the final Test, the tourists had pocketed the series. And Clarke’s best with the ball was yet to arrive.

On an exceedingly dry pitch, India chose to bat first and folded for 103. Ricky Ponting’s men secured a lead of 100 after which the Indian openers returned, padded up. Ponting rolled the ball to Clarke, who began by dismissing the opposing captain, Rahul Dravid for 27, reducing them to 182-5. The hosts lost their five scalps for a mere 23 runs as the left-arm bowler finished with figures of 6.2-0-9-6.

The Indian team set Australia a target of only 107 runs with more than two days to spare. To the visitors’ dismay, they crashed to India’s version of spin-bowling on a demonic pitch. Even though Australia sealed the series in India for the first time since 1969, they fell 14 runs short. It is the only instance in this list in which India won.

Saqlain Mushtaq – 5/94 and 5/93, Chennai 1999

A win for either side on any of their soils is a monumental achievement. India managed a slender lead of 16 in reply to Pakistan’s 238 in the first innings of the first Test of a blockbuster series. Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq claimed crucial wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin in his five-wicket haul.

Headlined by Shahid Afridi’s knock of 141 in the second innings, the visitors challenged India to get 271 and take the lead in the two-match rubber. Like several other innings, Tendulkar once again waged a lone war as Pakistan kept chipping away around him.

For the second time in the match, Saqlain came to the fore and put India to the sword by sending back the likes of Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly cheaply. As India’s batting maestro stayed on, he took them as close as he could before falling for 136, becoming Saqlain’s third victim. By the time the centurion departed, the hosts still need 17 runs. However, the off-spinner dismissed Sunil Joshi and finally Anil Kumble to secure a victory by 12 runs.

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Nicky Boje – 2/10 and 5/83, Bengaluru 2000

Nicky Boje’s magnificent spell marked the last of the glorious days for South Africa before the match-fixing fiasco slipped them to darkness. The off-spinner was one amongst the three bowlers to pick three wickets that kept the hosts to 158. But his accounting for Dravid and Nayan Mongia came at a miserly economy rate of 0.66 in 15 overs.

With the bat, the Bloemfontein-born made 85 in Proteas’ 479 before coming back to spinning a web again. He sent back Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, and Ganguly to set the innings victory in motion for the tourists. Boje ended with seven wickets in the match and series as South Africa clinched a historic series victory.

Monty Panesar – 5/129 and 6/81, Mumbai 2012

England had been splendidly pushed to the backfoot as they lost the first Test in Ahmedabad comprehensively. For a side, which was deprived of effective spinners and playing spin, it needed a turnaround like never witnessed before to keep the four-match series alive. The Englishmen tasted a drubbing against Pakistan in the UAE the same year and managed to escape with a draw against Sri Lanka.

Hence, the general expectation was for the tourists to surrender meekly, enduring another sorry outing in the sub-continent. But Alastair Cook’s chief tormentor in Mumbai, Monty Panesar had other plans. Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a double-hundred in the second Test, was the only one to stand up to the spin-twins of Graeme Swann and Panesar.

Panesar took the scalps of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Ravichandran Ashwin in his third-five wicket haul that year. A patient century from captain Cook and a breezy 186 from Kevin Pietersen helped the tourists to 413 in response to India’s 327.

The Bedfordshire-spinner posed trouble for the formidable batting line-up again. Apart from Gautam Gambhir and Ashwin, no other batsmen could make it to double-figures in the second innings. Monty Panesar took six more in the second to make it eleven in the match as MS Dhoni’s men managed only 142. Openers Cook and Nick Compton would go on to make quick work of the paltry target of 58 to level the four-match series.

Steve O’Keefe – 6/35 and 6/35, Pune 2017

Very few gave Australia their belief to showcase the competitiveness, let alone realistically appear in a position in regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. Sri Lanka left Steve Smith’s men gasping for breath when they travelled to the island nation in 2016 for a three-Test series. The spin attack, spearheaded by Rangana Herath was too much for Australia to handle as they lost by 0-3.

Thus, in the following year, India appeared as overwhelming favourites to hand the tourists another clean sweep in the four-match series. But the men in blue were in for a massive challenge. In the opening Test in Pune, Mitchell Starc’s cameo helped the visitors put on 260 after choosing to bat first.

But the drama was yet to unfold. When the chance for Australia to roll their arms came along, Steve O’Keefe made India look clueless on a ridiculously spinning wicket. The likes of KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Jayant Yadav, and Umesh Yadav all fell prey to his left-arm spin even though he wasn’t a big turner of the ball. Mitchell Starc snared two scalps while Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood chipped in with one each to take a daunting lead of 155 runs.

Captain Smith played a knock of 109 in the second innings on a minefield of a pitch that set the hosts an improbable 441 to win. O’Keefe, having snapped six already, added six more to his tally of wickets to embarrass India. The prized scalp of skipper Kohli as he left the stumps for the ball to crash on them was perhaps the beginning of the end. It was only a matter of time before Australia wrapped up the tail for 107 and took a stunning lead in the series.

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