BBC SPORT | CRICKET | Return of the spin twins

BBC Sport Online's Arjun Sandhu looks at India's potentially awesome spin attack of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

India's spin tradition was built around prodigious tweakers who usually hunted in packs of three or four.

But the spin orientation lost its bite in contemporary cricket's overtly defensive attitudes amidst an overdose of limited-over matches.

India's reputation of producing lethal spinners took a beating as the country discovered some effective seamers who took over the mantle in the absence of quality spinners.

The dramatic switch in emphasis during the past decade also resulted in restrictive spinners taking centre-stage in place of match-winning flighters of old.

Missing from the scenario was the arrogance that the Indian spin quartet - Bishen Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan - exuded during their decade-long dominance.

Leg-spinner Anil Kumble spearheaded the spin attack during the 1990s, to surge to the top among India's spin bowlers with a haul of 276 wickets in 61 Test matches.

Anil Kumble
Kumble returns after a year out of action
Kumble's support cast was only required to tie the batsmen down and leave the wicket-taking job to the ace leg-spinner, whose speedy leg-breaks were equally effective in both Tests and one-dayers.

But this put an excessive burden on Kumble and his shoulder eventually buckled under the workload.

It was during Kumble's absence due to shoulder surgery that off-spinner Harbhajan Singh emerged as a match-winning bowler.

Harbhajan, thrown into Test cricket aged 17, was Kumble's understudy in his first eight Tests.

He began making a mark under Kumble's tutelage, but still paled in comparison to his senior spinning partner.

During the eight Test matches in which they bowled in tandem, Harbhajan claimed 21 wickets against Kumble's 55.

He watched in awe from the opposite end as Kumble took all 10 wickets in an innings against Pakistan in New Delhi, 1999.

In doing so he became only the second bowler after Jim Laker to achieve the distinction in a Test match.

Harbhajan came of age as a match-winning bowler when he single-handedly bowled India to a memorable triumph Australia this year.

The prospect of Kumble and Harbhajan, both attacking spinners, bowling in tandem, has Indian fans excited.

Both Kumble and Harbahajan are looking forward to pairing up once again.

I'm raring to go after my long lay-off

Anil Kumble

"I'm excited at the prospect of sharing the attack with Anil...it'll be fun to bowl alongside him," said Harbhajan.

"We've bowled together before. Touring with him is an education," says Harbhajan. "He's a big source of inspiration."

Kumble said Harbhajan would be better off with less pressure.

"We shouldn't put pressure on Bhajji (Harbhajan). He's had a rough time, but has handled his comeback well but will need support," Kumble said.

"It'll be good to have him bowling at the other end."

Kumble will be striving to regain his place as the spearhead of the Indian attack and also overcome the nightmare of a disastrous trip in 1996.

South Africa's batsmen seemed to have sorted him out and played him as a medium pacer.

"This (playing again) will be akin to starting one's second innings," said Kumble.

"It'll be a challenge all right, but I've always fancied challenges.

"We'll have to work hard, very hard as this will be a crucial series for us," he said.

It might be quite a task for Harbhajan to revert to the role of Kumble's supporting bowler after enjoying so much success against Australia.

But he realises spinners face a big challenge on South Africa's pace-friendly tracks.

"The pitches there are known to help the quicker bowlers but the spinners will still have a big job to do.

Harbhajan holds the trophy aloft
Harbhajan was India's star performer in their 2-1 win over Australia
"One will have to stick to a tight line and try extracting some bounce off the wicket," Harbhajan said.

When they play together, both Kumble and Harbhajan will be used as strike bowlers, but there's a lingering doubt that this may not happen often on this tour.

India's recent strategy has cut down on one bowler to accommodate an extra batsman.

It began with the desire to accommodate VVS Laxman in the middle order, but skipper Sourav Ganguly stuck to this pattern during the recent series in Sri Lanka.

It leaves room for only four bowlers, and could prevent them playing two spinners on the seam-friendly pitches.

Sachin Tendulkar could be employed as a part-time spinner, as he has done in the past, so there's a distinct possibility that the spin duo of Kumble and Harbhajan won't be on show together very often.

Given that Kumble remains India's best bet, Harbhajan might once again be the one to suffer.


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