India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate is banking on learning from past mistakes as India prepare to take on defending Test World Cup champions South Africa in the two-Test series starting at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. The former Netherlands international hopes that the Indian batsmen have overcome the shortcomings that led to their rare home series defeat against New Zealand last year.
At the pregame press conference before the start of the seriesTen Doeschate, on Wednesday explained how facing this South African side, armed with a balanced mix of seam and spin, will be similar to playing the team in the subcontinent.
“They have four (three specialist) spinners available. They will most likely play three and it is a bit like playing against a team from the subcontinent,” he said.
South Africa’s spin department, led by Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen, has been one of their major strengths in recent months. In their last Test series in Pakistan, the quartet took a combined 35 wickets to help the Proteas level the two-match series 1-1. Harmer and Muthusamy, in particular, were instrumental – with the latter also contributing a valuable 106 runs to win the Player of the Series award.
“Normally you worry about the pace attack first, but I’m pretty sure they’ll go with two seamers and three, if not four, spinners. That’s a challenge when you’re playing in the subcontinent – and it’s something we need to improve on as a team,” he added.
His concerns stem from India’s stunning 0-3 defeat at home to New Zealand last year, where the likes of Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips combined for 36 wickets, exposing India’s struggles against spin.
“Hopefully we have learned from the New Zealand series. We have put plans in place to play spin better. It will be so important in these two matches, especially after how well South Africa played in Pakistan,” the Doeschate said.
As part of the build-up to the series, India have placed special emphasis on counter-spin during their training sessions at the Eden Gardens. The emphasis has been on shot selection and footwork, especially in the middle order where collapses have hurt them in recent series. With Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav leading India’s spin attack, the home side will be looking to match South Africa’s variety and consistency on what is already being called a sporting wicket at the Eden Gardens.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
November 12, 2025
