Wrong Reading

PRE-MATCH GAMEPLAN: Indians opted for three spinners 8212; Kumble, Harbhajan and Sarandeep 8212; with the hope of encountering a turner. Srinath was the lone pacer in the XI with rookies Tinu Yohannan and Iqbal Siddiqui benched.

GROUND REALITY: With conditions overcast for most of the Test, the spinners didn8217;t exactly shine. English pacers Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff picked eight wickets between them to highlight India8217;s flawed gameplan.

RESULT: Match Drawn

2004-05 vs Australia, Nagpur

Captain: Rahul Dravid

PRE-MATCH GAMEPLAN: Indians turned a blind eye to the greenish tinge on the opted and opted for two spinners 8212; Harbhajan and Kumble 8212; and two pacers 8212; Zaheer and Agarkar 8212; combination. Not sure of the surface they went for the mid-path.

GROUND REALITY: Gillespie picked up nine wickets in the match as the other two Aussie pacers McGrath and Kasprowicz never gave Indians any leg space. Indians missed the third pacer Ashish Nehra, who was doing drinks duty.

RESULT: Match lost

2004-05 vs South Africa, Kanpur

Captain: Sourav Ganguly

PRE-MATCH GAMEPLAN: After their win against the Aussies in the last Test at Mumbai, the Indians retained the same XI to face the Safs at Kanpur. That meant the three spinners 8212; Kumble, Harbhajan and Kartik 8212; got to bowl on a dead track after the minefield at Wankhede. Irfan Pathan was benched as Zaheer was the lone pacer in the side.

GROUND REALITY: The spinners were totally ineffective on a wicket with no wear and tear. South African pacers were among the wickets with the reverse swing working but India had limited options.

Result: Match Drawn