The spinner’s deceit begins with his eyes. Shane Warne’s eyes transmitted mischief; Muttiah Muralitharan’s gleamed with a magician’s glee; Ravi Ashwin’s flickered with a sniper’s coldness. The eyes of Mitchell Santner convey nothing, partly because he wears glasses for night games, but chiefly because his eyes are still and firm, locked on the moving parts of a batter. His vision is wonderfully clear.

India’s batters across formats know the threat. He devastated them in the Test series at home in 2024, and this series he is the only bowler they have feared. So far Santner has seven wickets in three games, at seven runs an over.

Most spinners watch the batter’s feet before release. Santner watches all of him, the feet, the hands, the head, to read the mind through micro-movement and weight distribution.

“You need to watch every part of them as closely as possible.…