Winning streaks in sport, history testifies, are not meant to last forever. You can marvel at Bayern Munich’s 11 straight league titles in German football, LA Lakers’ 33-game victorious run in the NBA, or indeed India’s 18 consecutive Test series wins, but invariably the hegemony, perhaps hubris in certain cases, comes to a halt.
Nobody — neither the most cynical Indian nor the most cheerful New Zealander — must have foreseen, though, that India’s proud run would be ended by the Black Caps in a clean sweep.
This was a visiting team, after all, that had won two Tests in India in 68 years before this. One without its leading Test run-scorer, Kane Williamson, due to injury. One that had recently been defeated 2-0 in Sri Lanka.
And yet when the proceedings concluded on a humid Sunday afternoon at the Wankhede Stadium, India was left to brood over the end of a 12-year winning streak in its backyard.
Phenomenal run
As much as this calls for serious soul-searching from Rohit Sharma’s men to set things in order before West Indies arrives in October 2025, it is worth looking back first at a phenomenal run that made beating India in India akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Numbers bear testimony. Between losing to England in 2012 and the series against the Kiwis, India won 42 and lost just four of 53 Tests at home. In the same period, Australia lost two home series to India alone while England suffered 21 defeats in 79 home Tests.
Sure, India has always been formidable at home. But in the eight years between its defeats to Australia in 2004 and England in 2012 — its previous unbeaten stretch — India also had four drawn series. It had a win percentage of 52.63, with only 20 victories in 38 home Tests.
The 2013-2024 streak was far more dominant and began when India was in the throes of a transition similar to the one that seemingly awaits it.
In late 2012, England’s touring contingent beat India after 28 years, spinners Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar outbowling the R. Ashwin-led spin attack over four Tests. India’s greats had either retired or were in the twilight of their careers, and concerns surfaced about the next generation’s ability to carry the mantle.
The first challenge was against Australia in the spring of 2013. That was passed emphatically as Ashwin bounced back with 29 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t far behind with 24 scalps, the series offering the first glimpse of a new spin partnership taking shape. West Indies visited later in the year for Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series, and played generous guest in a 2-0 defeat.
Turbulent times: Virat Kohli’s subpar form in recent Tests adds to the impending sense of upheaval in the red-ball team. | Photo credit: AFP
By the time India played its next home Test, against South Africa in November 2015, there had been a significant change in personnel and mindset. The new captain, Virat Kohli, and coach Ravi Shastri were clear that putting a premium on the ability to take 20 wickets would bring success.
The turning tracks for the series also seemed to be a way of helping Ashwin and Jadeja derive confidence as match-winners. With Ashwin claiming 31 wickets and Jadeja 23, India achieved its objective with a 3-0 win.
Not just raging turners
Signs of something special brewing materialised when India beat England and Australia in the 2016-17 season. Besides underlining India’s growing stature, these battles were also examples of how it didn’t always just play on raging turners. The one time a dust-bowl was dished out, India lost to Australia in Pune, outgunned by left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe (12 for 70).
But otherwise, the surfaces, while they can broadly be classified as spin-friendly, allowed for big runs early on before wear and tear made batting harder. Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara were the pillars of the batting unit for most of this period. Against England in that 2016 series, Kohli aggregated 655 runs in eight innings at 109.16. Pujara thwarted Australia’s bowlers two months later, with 405 runs in seven innings at 57.85.
Rohit also shored up the batting once he was promoted to open against South Africa in 2019. He tallied 529 runs, including three centuries, in that first series as a specialist Test opener as India piled up scores beyond 450 thrice in four innings.
It was on placid pitches like these that the emergence of a potent pace pack made a substantial difference. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, skiddy operators inclined to reverse swing, were particularly deadly when conditions demanded the stumps to be targeted, often faring considerably better than the opposition quicks. In 21 Tests in India, Shami has 76 scalps, striking once every 42.6 balls. Umesh took 101 wickets in 32 home Tests at a strike-rate of 48.
Where India again turned to rank turners was after losing the first Test to England in Chennai in 2021 on the back of Joe Root’s double hundred. With qualifying for the World Test Championship final now offering added incentive, key points were at stake. And, thus, India went back to playing on surfaces where the quality of their spinners would trump other aspects even if it came at the cost of their batters faltering. A similar theme ensued when Australia visited in 2023.
Ironically, then, it also contributed to the eventual unravelling versus New Zealand.
The nature of surfaces, however, has certainly helped Ashwin and Jadeja achieve the longevity they have. An instructive guide to the contrary is the career of Pakistan’s Yasir Shah. He had started just as impressively as Ashwin — he was the quickest Pakistani to 50 Test wickets — but had to stop at 244 scalps in 48 matches. The featherbeds in the UAE, where Shah averaged 58 overs per game in 17 Tests, probably took a toll as the leggie’s career wore on.
Transition
As successful as Ashwin, 38, and Jadeja, who turns 36 next month, have been, the series defeat against New Zealand as well as their advancing years will prompt uncomfortable questions.
Batting prospects: Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are Gen-Z stars carrying high hopes, but do they have what it takes to succeed in a variety of conditions? | Photo credit: Getty Images
Neither was at his finest against New Zealand. This is the only time Ashwin has finished wicketless in an innings twice in a home series. Jadeja ended with two fifers, but the richer rewards that Mitchell Santner, in Pune, and Ajaz Patel, in Mumbai, reaped as fellow left-armers cannot be overlooked.
That batting mainstays Kohli and Rohit also had subpar returns adds to the impending sense of upheaval in the Test team.
The transition, no doubt, will be challenging. Beyond Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav who have been around the squad in recent years, Washington Sundar and Manav Suthar are stylistic analogues to Ashwin and Jadeja respectively, among the younger lot, but can they fulfil the role of lead spinners?
Similarly, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are Gen-Z batting stars carrying high hopes, but do they have the technique and temperament to succeed in a variety of climes and conditions?
These answers will emerge over the next couple of years, with the youngsters perhaps even going on to kickstart another long run of victories. Till that happens, savour a winning streak that didn’t last forever but enthralled cricket fans for 12 years.
Published – November 09, 2024 12:29 am IST