India still learning how to navigate homework

FOUR spinners. Three frontline pacers. Three spinners and one pace-bowling all-rounder. Typical subcontinental pitch.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @ Guwahati

India players return to the pavilion after stumps on Day 1 of the 2nd Test against SA in Guwahati on Saturday | PTI

A black soil surface. A red soil deck where the clay content is higher. New captain. Another new captain. A couple of legends exiting stage left. A different coach and support staff having to learn everything about conditions. A batting debutant. A new opening partnership. A top-order with fresh faces.

It's fair to say that over the last 12 months and a bit, the Indian red-ball setup have tried to adapt and learn on the fly while playing at home. They have experimented more than a touch as they are still trying to figure out the best method to employ to give them optimum results at home. They haven't generally needed to experiment over the last 10 years or so because they have had a generational spin attack, a couple of gun pacers who relentlessly targeted the stumps at speed, a settled middle-order and an opener who averaged over 66 at home in a four-year period from 2019 to the end of 2022.