MONTY RECALLS

Since the beginning of the 21st century, India have lost only two Test series at home. The last time they tasted defeat was when England came to these shores in 2012-13. One of the key architects of that victory, Panesar, speaks to Swaroop Swaminathan about England’s gameplan, his bowling, the Tendulkar wicket among others...

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INDIA's 2012-13 home season was a winter of discontent. Even if some talented players were breaking through, others, most of them stalwarts, were in the December of their careers. The likes of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were found wanting against a bowling attack that zeroed in with the precision of a homing pigeon. One of the bowlers who led the turnaround after a beatdown in the first Test was Monty Panesar. On a turner at the Wankhede, the recalled left armer picked up 11 wickets, including accounting for Sehwag and Tendulkar in both innings.

In that series, Panesar emerged as the third leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets in five innings. In an interview with this daily, the 41-year-old shares the gameplan going into the series, what happened between the first and second Tests and whether Bazball could challenge India's invincibility in the weeks to come. Excerpts:

What was the game plan like going into that series in 2012?

We (Graeme Swann, himself, and captain, Alastair Cook) had felt that pace (of the spinners) was going to be a big factor. But it was also about how to keep the batters quiet and put them under pressure. Our strength in England is you have to sometimes bowl a bit quicker than in India because the pitches don't spin much. We used that philosophy where it was more about containment bowling than looking to attack.