Lush green squares will not suit reverse swing
Debasis Sen, Bengaluru: The 22 yards at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here is unlikely going to be a rank turner for the second test between India and Australia, starting from Saturday.
The visitors find themselves 1-0 up in the 4 test series, thanks to their comprehensive 333 runs win at Pune. The wicket at Pune spun prodigiously from ball one and was yesterday rated as ‘poor’ by ICC Match Referee Chris Broad.
Touring spinner Stephen O’Keefe claimed 12-70 for the match as Australia’s slow bowlers captured 17 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall in a match where the spinners bowled 76 per cent of the overs.
This also happens to be the first test match that will be played on a newly laid wicket. The last time a test match was played at the venue was in 2015 against South Africa. The game ended in a draw with four days being washed away due to rain.
Indian coach Anil Kumble was seen having a long discussion with curator Sriram before the start of practice session.
While India will be in double minds whether to leave a rank turner for their spin duo Ashwin and Jadeja, the lush green square at the venue will negate the chance of getting reverse swing. Which means Mitchell Starc’s hopes of getting reverse swing with the old ball will get diminished.
Australia captain Steve Smith said the abrasive Pune pitch and played into the hands of the visitors and evened up the contest and now the exact opposite looks set for the second Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The visitors had a brief glimpse of the wicket after the covers were completely removed and spent approximately 10 minutes poking, prodding and discussing the wicket.
India opening batsman Murali Vijay says the Bengaluru wicket “looks good” and despite the criticism of the Pune pitch, insisted he enjoyed batting on the first Test track.
“Personally, I don’t go into a match seeing the wicket,” Vijay said.
“I just go into the match with an open mindset. If the wicket does something extra I just try to adapt and that’s where the technique comes into play.
“I would not say Pune wicket was a poor wicket.
“It was a much more challenging wicket for us from ball one.
“As cricketers we need that (challenge) at times to play on such wickets to test your ability rather than every time playing on flat track or a seaming wicket.
“It actually is a good thing for me, personally, to play on a wicket like that at times to test your character and technique.”
Vijay’s top-order rival David Warner also played a straight bat when asked about the wicket.
“There’s been wickets around the world that have been not too (dissimilar) to what was produced, but we were talking about it before, you’ve got green tops, you’ve got spinning wickets, you’ve got ones that sort of explode and take chunks out from day one.
“But at the end of the day we’ve just got to go out there and adapt to the conditions and that gets dealt with afterwards.”