Giles finds second miracle beyond his reach

England's failure even to sight victory after controlling the first four days of the second Test inevitably focused on the spinners and in particular the demolition man of India's first innings, Ashley Giles. The left-arm spinner finished the final day wicketless, but did he fail, or were expectations of him to produce the goods pitched too high for a man decidedly short on match fitness?

The answer is a bit of both. As a realist, Giles would have known that his performance yesterday was probably below par, but only as far as his five-wicket haul had flattered to deceive on Thursday. India is not an easy place for visiting spinners and Giles' five wickets make him the first England spinner to take a five-for since Derek Underwood took 5 for 84 in 1976-77 at Bombay. Even Shane Warne cannot sparkle here – the Aussie leggie averages 50 runs per wicket.

Whatever the technical aspects of the performance, and ring-rust to action and body were visible, there is still much to admire about a man who came into the match with a hobble and just 17 overs to his name since July. Spin bowling is meant to be about finding rhythm through a gradual breaking-in, not going from nought to 60 in four seconds as Giles did.

According to his captain, Nasser Hussain, playing him in Ahmedabad was not a risk. "Ash assured me he would not break down in the match. He knows his body so that was good enough for me," said Hussain yesterday.

It was not perfect though, as it might have been had England's management team heeded Warwickshire, who wanted Giles to have the surgery to his Achilles tendon done last April. With the Ashes understandably seen as vital, a "rest and see" policy was adopted by England's physio Dean Conway. It didn't work and the spinner eventually went under the knife in early August having managed one Test against Steve Waugh's side.

Injuries to Achilles tendons can linger, especially in large people like Giles, who recently acknowledged his dimensions by referring to himself as a "big unit". Not being fully fit makes players feel vulnerable towards letting the side down and it was no surprise as he tired yesterday, that Richard Dawson outbowled him.

As a captain, Hussain is a stickler for players being fit before making themselves available. The risk of having Giles on tour was only taken because Phil Tufnell is persona non grata. Duncan Fletcher was apparently so incensed with Tufnell's attitude during last summer's Oval Test with Australia, that the maverick spinner would not have been picked for the tour had all the spinners in England been crocked.

Yesterday aches and pains after the 43.3 overs he had sent down 36 hours previously probably cost Giles 10 percent of his edge, and the left-armer was still up against Indian batsmen, the best players of spin in world cricket.

There has been a lot of speculation about India being a disunited team, fed up with the cult of Tendulkar, and under a captain distracted by an on-going feud with the media. If true, and if such things really did contribute to the sketchy batting that enabled England to take a commanding first-innings lead, professional pride and the wrath of a cricket-mad nation, prevented a repeat yesterday.

Draws are a way of life on Indian pitches and without the carrot of a realistic target, the home side blocked out the day without drama. With no pressure to score runs, Giles was forced to attack, which meant bowling around the wicket, rather than over it and into the rough, which had been the main tactic throughout India's first innings.

As going round requires a snappier body pivot, the change made Giles – undercooked for Test cricket by at least 100 overs – far less effective than a few days earlier. The dilemma was posed as early as Giles' first over of the morning, from which Shiv Sunder Das took 10 runs. Resorting back to over the wicket brought him control but not wickets, though he was involved with the first one to fall after his rifling throw from deep square leg caught Das inches short of his ground.

Not renowned as a big turner of the ball, Giles relies on his height (6ft 3in) to exploit any vagaries of bounce. The fact that the brick-red soil that comprised the pitch bounced true throughout and slower towards the end, did not help. Indeed, the last Test here two years ago ended in similar circumstances with New Zealand making 252 for 2 batting last against India's spinners.

Like many modern cricketers, he wears sunglasses. But while most are an affectation at best, Giles's probably serve a purpose by keeping hidden his kindly eyes with their look of mild surprise in them. That way he gives little away, which was England's game plan too, until they needed to take wickets against the clock.