Not a typical Chepauk track as pacers thrive
CHENNAI: When Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to field against India on an unusually overcast day in Chennai on Friday, he was the only second captain to do so in Test cricket at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
The only other was England captain Keith Fletcher in 1982, and the match ended in a draw after five days of run fest. Shanto’s case, however, was different. For starters, the red soil pitch had a tinge of grass left on it and had been watered enough in the lead-up to the match to ensure that it stayed firm and had consistent bounce. Even more so with the rising temperature that was felt in the city last week.
India also wanted such a surface because a spinning track might just end up favouring Bangladesh, who have three quality spinners in Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Taijul Islam. Add that to the fact that the city experienced cloudy weather on the first day, both Shanto and India captain Rohit Sharma wanted to bowl first, and with good reasons.
It all showed in the first two days of the match. Nine Indian wickets fell to pacers in the first innings with Hasan Mahmud taking a fifer — the last pacer to do so was James Pattinson in 2013. Mahmud hit the right lengths early on and made the ball move in both directions, troubling the star-studded Indian top-order. While there were a few bad shots, Mahmud rarely bowled bad deliveries in his first spell.
Only Ravichandran Ashwin, who read the pitch at his home ground better than most,managed to break the shackles and score quickly. This is not a typical Chepauk pitch Test cricket has seen in the last 15-20 years. It had bounce, sideways movement and carry all through the first day. And Ashwin knew enough to trust the bounce and pick the lengths while staying in the crease for most of his century.
Even on day two, despite the sun coming out and beating down heavily, the pitch held its own. It did not take long for Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep to make the most of it. The duo ran through the Bangladesh top-order — some poor batting helped — and even after the ball got a little older and bounce became a little up and down, they had enough pace and carry on the surface. Mohammed Siraj even reversed the ball a little later on, finishing with two wickets.
Bumrah took four and Akash Deep accounted for two meant eight wickets were shared between the pacers as Bangladesh were dismissed for 149.
The way Indian pacers, especially Bumrah, bowled, made one wonder how worse off Bangladesh would have been had Rohit won the toss. With Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana taking a wicket each on Friday evening, 19 of the 23 wickets that fell on the first two days went to pacers. Fast bowlers, in this Test, average 18.94 so far while the spinners’ were 53.75. It is the kind of stat that throws you off when you realise it’s Chepauk — a venue where spinners have flourished historically.
Numbers back it up too. From the first Test in 1934 till 1989, the pacers averaged 32.04 at the venue and spinners 30.8. In the 33 years since, pace average in Chennai has gone up to 38.39 with spinners operating at 33.02. To put this into context, the only time a pace attack took more than seven wickets in an innings this century at this venue was when Australia accounted for eight in 2013 with Pattinson taking a fifer. Now, this is not to say it will not assist spinners. The pitch is expected to break down more as the game progresses and assist spinners in the last couple of days.
Ashwin, who said that it is the kind of surface he had played on during his U-19 days, explained in the presser on Friday: “I think there is a bit more up-and-down bounce. The wicket is getting slower. It's probably quickened up a touch and then it's again gone on the slower side. I really do think as this game pans out, if at all it gets to the fifth day, it will turn for certain. I am more sure about that. The challenges going ahead in this pitch would be to negotiate spin, a little bit of slowness, not playing ahead. The longer we bat, the better it is. It will give the surface its due course to be able to do its tricks on the batters, keep them on the field.”
Two days before the first Test, Bangladesh head coach Chandigarh Hathurusingha had said that it looks like a “sporting pitch” but one has to wait and see how it looks it plays out. Safe to say, it has remained the same so far.