so was the pitch prepared for sa in the 3rd test in 08.
indian spinners bowled really well in that 04 series but it was their batsmen who failed them at critical stages and that's why they lost. sachin didn't play two tests. luxman and dravid both had poor series.
for australia, only martyn and clarke were fantastic. hayden, langer, ponting, lehman and gilly bar one innings had poor series with the bat.
No. Mumbai 04 was a sub-standard ptich because seasonal rain before the game, affected the pitch preparation. Which for a Mumabi pitch with its unique red soil which in all the test i've seen at that ground:
- vs SA 2000
- vs AUS 2001
- vs ENG 2006
Is fairly bowler friendly enough already, Since both the quicks & spinners get alot of help. That 04 Mumabi pitch played below standard all those other surfaces because of poor pitch preperation.
Kanpur 08 was not sub-stanadrd, that was an acceptable turner. SA batsmen where just exposed.
India's batting in 04 had poor series, because AUS bowlers exposed them technically.
Of coruse Martyn, Clarke & Katich where the standout AUS batsmen in that 2004 tour. But you compare each AUS batsmen in that 2004 series performance for those who played in IND 2001, all of them improved their play againts spin even if it wasn't superb. Which overall gave the batting a more compact feel, which aided them in preventing that kind of mega collapsed that occured in 2001 & 1998.
Langer came into that 04 series. On the back of career defining innings againts spin where he scored superb
166 in SRI. For a man growing up in WA & having all those early career issues againt spin, that was a monumental knock & he chipped in solidly often enough in that 2004 series.
Lehmann & Ponting played 1 test each so nothing can be judged from that. But given that Lehmmann for eg was equal to Martyn in equally/slightly more difficult spinner firiendly conditions in SRI 04. I would have backed Lehmann to dominate/done well if he played all 4 tests.
Gilly was his usually self vs spin in that 2004. Very hit & miss. But clearly some improved solidity to his batting compared to the 2001 series was present, when he looked like a walking wicket after his Mumbai 01. His 49 in the chennai 2nd innings where he came in @ # 3 in a very crucial stage of the manage a played key innings in the context of that test.
Hayden had a average series in 2004. It was poor if you compare it to his 2001 tour exploits or that SRI 04 batting performance before that series. But he never looked lost or was technicaly exposed againts the spin, which is key distinction. He kept looking good in the many starts he had - before getting out in many different ways.
