Much of the pre-game attention has been focused on the two leaders, but the most important cricketing real estate lay in the centre, baking in the hot sun: the pitch will decide much more than just this Test match and the series.
The captains were clear about what the most important task at hand was. Yes, both countries’ Prime Ministers are coming. Clearly, this is an exciting time. We have a job for the players. So the talk is just about how we’re going to come out on top of this Test match and try to do everything we can to win this Test, Steve Smith would agree.
The 22 yards in Ahmedabad could provide India with a blueprint for future home series, or it could prompt a rush back to designer spin tracks. The Motera pitch is likely to be a throwback, promising runs in the first innings before winking at the spinners.
If India wins the game, with their batsmen and quality spinners impressing, they may return to such venues in the future. It’s no secret that today’s Indian batsmen aren’t as good as their predecessors against the spinning ball.
Averages have dropped, players have been demoted, reputations have suffered, and the shine has worn off the spinners’ performances. If India wins this Test, the batsmen in the team may be able to persuade Rahul Dravid and company that this is the way to go.
However, if India loses this game, the ramifications will be interesting, depending on the nature of their defeat. It could harden the coach’s thinking even more, causing him to see Indore as an outlier and continue digging up turners. As it stands, Dravid has been a constant presence on the field.
Perhaps as a coach, he has had more conversations with the curators than as a player. Not only was he there before the game, but he was also there during the lunch break on the first day in Indore, chatting with the curator.
If India loses, the argument may shift to pointing out that, all told, India has only lost three Tests on primarily spin tracks since 2013. Why tinker with a winning formula?
source: Sports HuntThese are the stakes. Not all of the Tests this decade have been played on rank turners, but since they ambushed the South Africans on designer tracks in 2017, the pitches have been generally loaded towards spin.
And, as Dravid acknowledged on Tuesday, the World Test Championship (WTC) pressure has shifted the equation even further. Given that they lost to Australia on one of these tracks in Pune, and now again in Indore, the tendency to produce sandpits may be curtailed if they win here.
Perhaps it will dawn on them that they don’t need to bring out the rakes, bake the soil, selectively water it in certain areas, and purposefully under-prepare tracks.
