Which surface provides them with the greatest advantage over their opponents at home? A decade or so ago, the answer was obvious. Turners, turners, turners. However, the verdict in the present is less clear.
The million-dollar question a day before the fourth Test is, what can we expect from the Ahmedabad pitch? However, it is too early to predict the pitch, but this is not a sand pit.
As of Wednesday, all four pitches aligned with the sightscreen had plenty of grass. Over time, even visiting teams have realized that the true nature of the pitch can only be understood once play begins. The pitch color of the 22-yards in India is known to magically transform from green to brown overnight.
The garden sprinklers were turned on late in the evening, before a dust storm hit the stadium and there was a light drizzle. The central square pitches were thoroughly watered before being covered and put to bed for the night.
This does not appear to be a typical dry, crumbling pitch. Finally, India may choose a level playing field for the fourth Test. In 2021, India played two Tests against England at the same venue, one of which was completed in just two days on a fast-turning pitch.
Green top in Ahmedabad, Rohit Sharma was asked the day Australia thrashed India on a tuner. Is that still going on? He choked for words, perhaps wishing that he could take his words back from the pre-match press conference, and wore a sheepish smile and produced a platitudinal answer:
source: Xtra Time
Well it’s too early now, we just finished a Test match. We’ll travel to Ahmedabad and see what we can do. But yeah, we’ll see, we’ll have a chat about this game, he stuttered, paused, and resumed.
What went wrong in this game, and what can we do well in Ahmedabad without worrying about the pitch, he explained. He then deflected the question in the same way he would a leg-stump half-volley.
Honestly, this pitch talk is getting to be too much. Why aren’t people asking me about Nathan Lyon, how well he bowled, Pujara’s performance in the second innings, or Usman Khawaja’s performance? he’d rant.
