Why are Indian batsmen failing against spin bowling?

Indian cricket has many problems, but struggling with spin bowling is something worryingly new and needs sorting

- Sumit Chakraberty

Time was when India had the home advantage of being better players of spin than visiting teams. That was certainly a factor in M.S. Dhoni's team winning the ODI World Cup at home in 2011.

But times have changed. Indian batsmen these days look just as vulnerable as the visitors when the ball turns sharply. The pitches in Ranchi and Lucknow for the first two T20 matches in the series against New Zealand exposed that. It will be interesting to see if the Ahmedabad pitch for the decider on Wednesday continues that examination.

Both the games were close. India seemed to have the first one in control despite an expensive opening spell by Arshdeep Singh. But when Singh came back at the end to bowl a 27-run last over, the match tilted in New Zealand's favour. Daryl Mitchell, who had looked embarrassingly awkward against the spinners, feasted on a pacer who was preoccupied with where his foot was landing, because of a spate of no-balls.

That final over meant that Indian batsmen would be tested against a good Kiwi spin trio of Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, and Ish Sodhi. All except Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Washington Sundar failed the test.

In the second match, India confined New Zealand to just 99, with Arshdeep managing to produce a good couple of overs at the death to not unravel what the spinners had woven. But even a target of 100 almost proved to be a bridge too far for the Indian batsmen. Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya managed to get home with just a ball to spare. Strange indeed!