India have long curated home tracks that accentuate turn, but the assumption their own batters would master such conditions no longer appears safe following their defeat in the opening Test against South Africa.
With the scars of last year's home series whitewash against New Zealand still raw, preparing rank turners may invite risk.
Gill stretchered out with neck injury; ''just bad timing'', says Morne Morkel
South Africa romped to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan on the fourth day of the second Test on Thursday, claiming victory before lunch to level the two-match series.
'You saw Yashasvi Jaiswal start in the second innings, did you see the first three balls, the kind of shots that he attempted?'
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
South Africa's head coach Shukri Conrad is backing his spin troika of Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer to match their seasoned counterparts from India and "make history of our own" in the upcoming Test series
Rohit Sharma followed up his knock of 73 in the second ODI in Adelaide with a match-winning unbeaten 121 in Sydney to be named the Player of the Series.
Former players Irfan Pathan and Venkatesh Prasad have questioned the Indian team's muddled approach, lack of stability and the increasing reliance on all-rounders.
Daryl Mitchell becomes only the second player from New Zealand to hold the top the ICC ranking for ODI batters.
Ravichandran Ashwin exposed India batters' lack of quality to battle ball tweakers by claiming that if legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar or past domestic heroes Amol Muzumdar, the India women's team head coach and Mithun Manhas had played against spinners on such a track, the Test would have gone to four days, unlike India's harrowing 30-run defeat against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
Pakistan moved themselves into a strong position, needing eight wickets to win while South Africa are chasing an imposing target as the first Test headed for an exciting conclusion.
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Spin great Harbhajan Singh said India don't have a specialist off-spinner for Test cricket.
On a surface offering little assistance for bowlers, South Africa's top order had frittered away starts but number seven Muthusamy marshalled a lower-order surge with a composed 109.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram said their Test victory over hosts Pakistan in difficult conditions was a major confidence boost for the tourists, who will be heading to India next and expect an even sterner test.
South African captain Temba Bavuma on Sunday said his game is built around an unshakeable defence, which stood him in good stead on a disintegrating Eden Gardens track, where 38 wickets fell inside eight sessions.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
'Constant changes to the playing XI, batting orders, and frequent rotations prevent stability.'
Sack Gambhir before he damages any more careers, if you must. But it cannot stop there. The project ahead must be bigger, more ambitious, and far more urgent: Rebuilding the spine of Indian cricket from the grassroots up, and giving the Test team the seriousness it deserves. Only then will Indian cricket stop lurching from one crisis to another and begin, once again, to imagine greatness, suggests Prem Panicker.
South African captain Temba Bavuma mixed grit with humour after his team's shock win over India in Kolkata, celebrating his hard-fought fifty and the "small hands" catch that turned the match on its head.
'When you are playing on spin-friendly pitches, you need to prepare differently.'
'You don't come to a country to win a Test match, you obviously want to win the series.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
Imam was in a hurry to reach his ton and, attacking the bowling, got an inside edge to Senuran Muthusamy's left-arm spin and was snagged at short leg by Tony de Zorzi's sharp catch.
The Indian team management has not asked for a rank turner for the opening Test of the two-match series against South Africa beginning at the Eden Gardens on Friday, Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly said on Monday.
South African stand-in captain Aiden Markram said home side Pakistan were well within their rights to prepare extreme turning wickets for their two-Test series, which starts in Lahore on Sunday, as they did last year to beat England.
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
South Africa sharpen spin game in attacking net session ahead of Eden Test
On one of India's most challenging surfaces in recent memory -- a dry, unpredictable turning track where every ball felt like an event, Temba Bavuma played one of the defining innings of his career.
The aura of home advantage -- long regarded as a hallmark of India's Test side -- seemed secure. But in barely over a year, that fortress has not just cracked, it has collapsed, raising uncomfortable questions about strategy, selection, and temperament.
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
India, South Africa pretty close on bowling, batters will face big test in getting runs: Amla
'I definitely believe the kind of form he is in, the way he is batting, it will strengthen the Indian batting line-up.'
K L Rahul on Saturday conceded that Indian batters' repeated struggles against spin, especially on home tracks, remain a concern.
Tilak Varma begins County stint with sizzling century for Hampshire against Essex
The collapse, India's lowest failed chase at home, has left behind deeper fault lines than a dry Eden Gardens wicket can conceal.
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