While Indian success had a lot to do with its superior spin department, it has also a lot to do with the form, or the lack of it, of one man — Hashim Amla. Over the years, he has proved that he's equally adept at playing spin as he is at handling pace. The last time he played at Nagpur in 2010, he scored 253* and this time, he hasn't managed that many in the entire tour across three formats.


Hashim Amla plays a shot during the Delhi Test Pic/AFP

So, what's gone wrong with the man whose middle name is 'consistency'? Well, it didn't start well for him in the shorter formats, and for once it felt that he was trying to get ahead of himself. He is surrounded by some quality stroke-makers and the way he went about doing his business in the T20s and ODIs, it gave the impression that he was trying to match his peers. It's not that his feet weren't moving or he wasn't timing the ball well. It's just that he was going too hard at the ball too soon and too often.