2001-02 vs England, BangaloreCaptain: Sourav GangulyPRE-MATCH GAMEPLAN: Indians opted for three spinners — Kumble, Harbhajan and Sarandeep — 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 didn’t exactly shine. English pacers Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff picked eight wickets between them to highlight India’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 — Harbhajan and Kumble — and two pacers — Zaheer and Agarkar — 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 — Kumble, Harbhajan and Kartik — 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
