Parthiv: Quality of Indian spinners is far better

"I think there’s definitely a lot of difference in the quality," the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman said, after the second day’s play of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium.

Parthiv Patel during a practice session at the Wankhede Stadium.

“Take his beard off and he will still look 16”. That’s what India coach Anil Kumble had said about >Parthiv Patel . As a result, the seasoned wicketkeeper-batsman is the last man to be sledging the opposition. But Patel displayed the quintessential characteristic required for a modern-day 'keeper as he dismissed the England spinners’ skills.

Listen to Parthiv Patel's interaction with the media

“More than the surface, I think the quality of our (spin) bowling is far better. Our bowlers definitely get more revolutions on the ball than what their spinners are doing. And, obviously, we vary our pace very well. We have deceived a lot of players in the air than just waiting for help from the wicket. I think there’s definitely a lot of difference in the quality,” Patel told reporters after the second day’s play of the fourth Test at the Wankhede Stadium.

“We have definitely tried to spin the ball more than what they have tried to do, for sure. That’s what I felt in the last game also. Last game, the way our bowlers bowled in Mohali where there was no turn, and you could see how they bowled when we were batting second where they actually got exposed because there was no help in it. And we definitely have traditional bowlers who can vary their pace brilliantly. That’s what Ashwin, Jaddu and Jayant have been doing. That’s why we have kept them quiet. As you know, on a red soil wicket, it is very, very difficult to contain the scoring rate and we did that in the second session and that is the reason we got wickets in the third session.”

When asked if the England spinners' tendency to bowl loose balls frequently has failed to restrict the Indian batsmen, Patel responded: “That is definitely one of the reasons. We don’t have to go over the top and try and play a sweep or a reverse sweep because we know that a bad ball is coming soon.”

Not just the spinners, but Patel was in no mood to spare even Jos Buttler, his Mumbai Indians team-mate who, with a valued support from the tail, helped England touch the 400-run mark.

“I think, honestly, he was very lucky yesterday. There were a lot of balls when there were inside edges and missed the stump narrowly but I thought he batted well today. When you don’t have any pressure, you tend to play well. Once wickets fell, he had to play with tailenders and he played his game. Would love to see him defending a few in the second innings if it turns and bounces,” Patel said.