21:49
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AHMEDABAD, India: England face a perilous trial by spin as they bid to win their first Test series in India in 27 years when the four-match contest opens in Ahmedabad on Thursday (tomorrow).
The newly-laid wicket at the Motera stadium, expected to assist spin over the five days, will suit a home team desperate to avenge the 4-0 humiliation in England last year.
England proved vulnerable against the turning ball away from home this year, losing 3-0 to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in January-February before forcing a 1-1 draw in Sri Lanka in March.
The tourists now confront an Indian side that makes up for its poor record abroad by dominating all comers on home soil where they have lost just one series out of 16 in the past 10 years.
India will use two frontline spinners — possibly three if a rank turner is provided — to bamboozle England.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has taken 42 wickets in five home Tests, and slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha, 63 from 12 games at home, will be their main weapons. Waiting in the wings is recalled off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, whose 406 scalps in 98 Tests make him the world’s leading wicket-taker among the current crop of bowlers.
The newly-laid wicket at the Motera stadium, expected to assist spin over the five days, will suit a home team desperate to avenge the 4-0 humiliation in England last year.
England proved vulnerable against the turning ball away from home this year, losing 3-0 to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in January-February before forcing a 1-1 draw in Sri Lanka in March.
The tourists now confront an Indian side that makes up for its poor record abroad by dominating all comers on home soil where they have lost just one series out of 16 in the past 10 years.
India will use two frontline spinners — possibly three if a rank turner is provided — to bamboozle England.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has taken 42 wickets in five home Tests, and slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha, 63 from 12 games at home, will be their main weapons. Waiting in the wings is recalled off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, whose 406 scalps in 98 Tests make him the world’s leading wicket-taker among the current crop of bowlers.
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