The Mumbai Test was saw the return of two ‘Sardars’, Harbhajan Singh for India and Monty Panesar for England. It was a crucial match for both of them because they were once the number one spinners for their respective sides but have lost that position to someone else.

The return of Monty Panesar was quite obvious after the Ahmedabad Test. For some strange reasons England did not play Panesar in the first Test of a series, they did it against Pakistan in UAE and they once again did it here. Panesar straight away made an impression against Pakistan and he bettered his performance in his first match against India.

For Harbhajan it was a different story, people were shocked with his inclusion in the 15 member squad sayig that he hasn’t done enough to earn a place in the team. Harbhajan who was making a comeback after more than a year rubbished the comments saying he does not need to prove anything to his critics.

So the second Test held a lot of importance for these two flamboyant ‘Sardars’. After three days and one session of play in Mumbai one can say that the viewers will see a lot more of one of them and may not see the other for the remainder of the series.

Panesar bowling on the first day of the Test got the purchase from the wicket that none of the other four spinners got. Panesar has always been a bit quicker than other spinners and that worked perfectly on this track. His average speed was in the 90s and he never allowed batsmen any time to negotiate the turn that he got. The wickets of Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni were the perfect examples of how Panesar’s pace caused problems.

Indian skipper after the match said that it was Monty’s bowling that made the difference. He said that Monty was the main reason behind England’s success. It was a perfect match for Panesar but the story was a lot different for Harbhajan.

Once India’s premier spinner, Harbhajan looked ordinary in the match. He came into bowl after Ojha and Ashwin in both innings and failed to make any impression. He bowled only 21 overs in comparison to Ojha’s 40 and Ashwin’s 42.3 in the first innings. Dhoni avoided bowling him on the third day when Pietersen and Cook were going. Harbhajan took two wickets, both being tail-enders.

India have retained Harbhajan in the squad for Kolkata Test but it is almost certain that he will lose his place to a seamer.

By Indian Sports News Network