CHENNAI: After India lost the opening match of the three-Test series to New Zealand last year, even more attention had turned towards the deck in Pune. What would the visitors get? A low black soil turner was the answer but after the Kiwis won the toss and put the runs on the board, their spinners came into the game.
With India increasingly desperate for World Test Championship points, on a made to order surface in Mumbai, the hosts once again lost out to spin on a spicy red soil strip.
One year and a few weeks later, the hosts are in a similar situation. They need WTC points ahead of stiffer tests away from home in 2026. So, as always, what will the 22 yards serve up? On first viewing from afar, there isn't a lot of similarity from this deck and the one at Kolkata. That one was black, this one, for the venue's inaugural Test, is red. The pitch also has a covering of grass, an ingredient that was missing in Kolkata. Usually, the grass helps to keep the surface intact before spin plays a role as the match wears on.
You can, however, expect some of the grass to be shaved off before the start of the game. On a red soil surface, there will be more bounce on offer. With the pitch receiving a nice bath on Thursday afternoon — this wasn't the case at Eden Gardens — the hope is that the surface won't deteriorate as quickly.
But a couple of things. Under this regime, the one previous time they desperately needed a result, a made to order pitch was commissioned (there's nothing wrong in asking for one). And considering the nature of surfaces in the sub-continent, on normal tracks there's a fear that the side winning the toss will gain a huge advantage so they want an element of the ball turning from Day One.
Also consider the fact that pitch preparations isn't an exact science or art. A team could well ask for a normal track but there could be excessive turn from Day One itself. On Thursday, Sitanshu Kotak, the hosts' batting coach, explained that India didn't ask for the track given to them at Eden Gardens.
"When Gautam (coach Gautam Gambhir) came for the press conference after the match and took all the blame on himself, he did that because he felt the curators shouldn't be blamed," Kotak said. "... every country plays to their strengths. In India that is spin. Ever since I've come in, every time, we have the same conversation, that the Test match should go on for four days, four-and-a-half days. All we want is a bit of spin, because spin is our strength.
"... What happened in the last match, after the first day, you could see that (the pitch) was crumbling, a bit of soil was coming (off the surface). That wasn't expected. Even if we had expected that much spin, it was after the third day, or on the evening of the third day. Even the curator didn't want this. No one wanted what happened."
