PUNE: Recuperating from the first Test shipwreck, the Indian team might have a tricky question to answer before they head into the remainder of the series.
Turner backfiring, they can’t go for anything that helps the opposite, considering Australia’s pace bowling resources. Opting for another turner would take some courage, for obvious reasons.
Pune setting a precedent that has few parallels, pitch preparation will be a talking point wherever the cricket cavalcade travels to.
Little doubt then that every activity around the centre at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will be keenly followed before the second Test. Australians can afford a chuckle at the state of affairs in Indian ranks.
“It would be interesting to see what they come up with in Bangalore,” said Steve Smith after the first Test.
“I think it (Pune) was certainly a wicket that would more likely suit the Indian players. We saw the way our spinners bowled on that. They were able to generate good spin and natural variation out of the wicket. It’s up to them now to decide what they want.”
If letting the other team do the thinking is a good position to be in, the Australians are. Expected to play and bowl spin better than the visitors, the Indians cut a sorry figure on both fronts in the first Test. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja turned the ball without finding the edge. On the other hand, Steve O’Keefe hit the jackpot without spinning the ball a great deal.
The Indian team, however, seems to think it was their failure rather than the success of the opposition that led to the anti-climax. “I wouldn’t say their spinners did better than us. If you don’t apply yourself, any attack can look dangerous. Even a part-timer can get four wickets. That was the case with our batting. It rarely happens that four-five batsmen make errors of judgement in both innings. This was our worst batting performance and we need to accept that,” was Virat Kohli’s take on what is to be done now.
So what should be done? It’s not an easy question and according to persons associated with preparation of pitches, it should be left to them. They think the MCA Stadium fiasco was caused by the Indian team’s late insistence on a turner, which demanded drastic steps and led to a situation where things were in nobody’s control.
“In most of the nine Tests at home this season, spinners got assistance in the later stages and our batsmen too scored runs. Left to them, our pitch curators know what needs to be done to ensure home advantage without making things so obviously loaded in favour of spinners. That’s what they should be allowed to do for the rest of the series. Putting pressure on groundsmen doesn’t make things easier for anybody,” said a BCCI-certified pitch curator.
Oz to train in Pune
The Australian team has decided to train in Pune on Monday morning after opting for complete rest on Sunday. Instead of heading for Bengaluru, they decided to spend what would have been the fourth and fifth days of the first Test in Pune. There was no clarity over the whereabouts and activities of the Indian team.
atreyo@newindianexpress.com