New Delhi: The traditional perception of India being good batters of spin bowling has waned over time, with visiting teams now aware that the hosts are also vulnerable against quality tweakers, says former South Africa batting star AB de Villiers.
India have lost two Tests on the trot to New Zealand, surrendering a series on home soil for the first time since 2012-13, a run that included 18 consecutive Test series victories.
The home team’s batters, including skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli all struggled against the spin of Ayaz Patel and Mitchell Santner.
Left-arm spinner Santner picked up 13 wickets as New Zealand dominated India in the second Test in Pune, leading to much criticism of the Indian batters.
“When you go to India, Indian players are the best players of spin, it is perceived to be, doesn’t always mean that it is a fact that all the batters are the best players of spin in the world.
“When you get a turning wicket and you get a good bowler, no matter how good of a player you are, you will be under pressure. If the batter has got the mind and skill and the ability, you can score runs in any conditions in the world,” said de Villiers on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers praised New Zealand for adapting to the challenging conditions of Bengaluru and Pune quickly, which the Indian batters failed to do despite playing in known conditions.
Still the former South African star doesn’t see any huge deficiency in India’s famed batting line-up but points out that with changing times, the perception and mindset of away teams have changed too.
“There is nothing wrong with the Indian batters, they are incredible players, all of them and they can play spin. But I think a lot of teams have caught up and that perception of when you go to India, you are going to have a hard time, those times are gone.
“The 90s and early 2000s are gone, when you are just a walking wicket in certain conditions. Look at Virat Kohli, he has scored 100s in South Africa as well,” he added.
