If Australia could choose a venue for a deciding Test in India, it would likely be Dharamsala.
Following a 210-over stint in the field during India’s only innings in the heat at Ranchi, the climate at Dharamsala will be a relief.
The pitch may also be to Australia’s liking.
This domestic season in India, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium has hosted three Ranji Trophy matches, India’s four-day equivalent of the Sheffield Shield.
The first match was a high-scoring affair, with scores of 524, 480 and 1-114.
The next two saw scores of 205, 105, 214 and 271, followed by innings of 217, 164, 293 and 114.
Of most interest to Steve Smith, however, will be the style of bowler who claimed the wickets: of the 99 wickets to fall to bowlers, 89 were claimed by pace.
I doubt another first-class ground in India would boast such a disparity in favour of the quicks this season.
India must win the final match to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy, a draw will not suffice, so Virat Kohli – and all of India – will be hoping for a result pitch.
A strip similar to the one at Ranchi could prove problematic.
India markedly outscored Australia in the first innings but there was insufficient time in the end to claim all 20 wickets to secure victory.
Australia also gifted some soft wickets in their first innings of 451, and with a bit more diligence, could have posted a more substantial total.
India was hoping that Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would spin them to victory on the final day but they failed to do so.
Ashwin looked tired after a long international summer and failed to produce his customary venom. In the main, he has been short of his best during the series. Boasting a bowling average of 22.1 on home soil prior to the opening Test, he has claimed 17 wickets at 28.9.
Jadeja was miserly in Australia’s second innings at Ranchi, bowling 44 overs for figures of 4-54. However, try as he might, he was unable to remove Shaun Marsh until he had faced 197 deliveries, despite having significant rough to target outside the left-hander’s off stump.
Marsh’s 124-run stand through 62 overs with Peter Handscomb determined the outcome.
The fact that the tourists lost just two wickets in the 71 overs it faced after Smith was dismissed before lunch on the final day will have bolstered their confidence immeasurably.
All the pressure now rests with India.
They came into the series on the back of an unbeaten streak of 19 Tests. The last time these two sides met in India, in early 2013, the hosts produced a four-nil whitewash.
Yet, with one Test remaining in this series, the world number one is caught up in a dog-fight with their pride on the line.
If the pitch at Dharamsala bears any resemblance to those that have hosted first-class matches earlier this season, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins will be licking their lips, and the odds of India taking the series will lengthen.
Cummins belied his lack of first-class cricket in recent years by being Australia’s best bowler at Ranchi, with figures of 4-106. He had a heavy workload, sending down 39 overs. How he backs up will closely monitored.
If there is some pace and bounce in the surface, he could be a handful.
The tourists may contemplate taking in just the one spinner, with Jackson Bird engaged as a third quick. If the selectors go that way, it would likely be Nathan Lyon who would miss out.
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Since his historic 8-50 in the first innings at Bangalore, Lyon has found it hard going. His calloused spin finger may be a factor. In his last two innings with the ball, he has sent down 79 overs for a return of 1-245.
By contrast, over the same period, Steve O’Keefe has bowled 98 overs and taken 5-235.
In the same period, O’Keefe has bowled 20 maidens and Lyon just six, while the former has an economy rate of 2.4 against Lyon’s 3.1.
Should Lyon be dropped, Glenn Maxwell may need to be called upon to deliver more overs.
Like so many Tests in India, great fascination has surrounded the first three pitches used in this series. The trend will continue at Dharamsala.
Australia will be hoping its pitch mirrors, in many ways, those already seen there this Indian summer.
India will be looking to deaden the surface, but if it has even a little of the characteristics seen of late, it will add some real pep to the tourists’ step.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"Brisbane was close another 50 runs and they would have been in business." No that Test wasn't very close, Australia only needed 14 runs to win with 7 wickets still in hand ... that isn't close. India picked up a couple of consolation wickets at that point when the result was already a foregone conclusion which made the scorecard seem closer. But Australian absolutely controlled that Test, India were never in the hunt.
Sumit
Guest
Yes but you cannot really extrapolate on that. In that series India did also bring up very high scores as well. Korli and Rahane smashing people around. Most of India's test wins abroad in recent times have been on green seamers, not on oz roads. Brisbane was close another 50 runs and they would have been in business.
Mika
Guest
History tells me either their curator is having a lend, giving the party line, or doesn't know what is about to hit him (otherwise known as a quiet word from Kumble and the BCCI). I cannot imagine India will allow a pitch that offers ANY assistance to Cummins in particular, but also Hazelwood - who becomes a weapon on any pitch with bounce and pace. Remember - Cummins bounced 4 of them out on a dustbowl, plus got Virat on the drive: his speed, agression and physical threat will be at the front of their minds. Whatsmore, given India seem to give themselves a moral license to doctor pitches as a matter of course, if they serve up an Aussie-friendly number in the decider and lose, it would cause an outrage and heads would roll. Nobody wants that. I hope I am wrong, but I suggest since that last pic of the deck was taken, the following has and will occur: 1. official orders to cease watering. 2. Mowing with the lowest blade a few days out, 3. Monitoring to see how it is coming - wether more is required. But there is the altenrate theory: India need to win to get the trophy. History says whatever happens, they're most unlikely to do it with spin on this ground, so it has to be pace. Kohli may be gambling that with the excellent swinger Shami in the side for Ashwin, his 3 pace attack can be a real 20 wicket threat. Aussies are susceptible to swing. A case of being prepared to gamble it all on a win? Hope so - make for a great game.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Actually Sumit, India only managed to bowl out Australia 2 times out of 8 innings in the last series - and Australia made 530 and 505 in those two completed innings. India's bowlers were absolutely toothless in that series which is why India were never a genuine chance of winning a Test.
Sumit Roy
Guest
Glenn, if the OZ pace bowlers also played in India most of the time their averages will also be down by a factor of 5-7..as you can see, because of the lack of pace/bounce/swing. Watch out for Shami, on song he is a handful. Kumar will most likely play instead of Ishant. Average of 29... why? most of his test matches have been outside India. When India plays 2 quicks it's mostly Shami/Umesh.
Sumit Roy
Guest
India did bowl out OZ 3 times out of 8 last series.... also got a second innings 6 in Brisbane. That game was pretty close OZ only won by 4 wickets, another 50-100 runs and you never knew.
Sumit Roy
Guest
Not really..... if it's a green seamer it balances out. Indian pace attack has won a few test matches in JoBurg, Durban, Lords, Perth etc.. you just cannot take the last OZ tour and extrapolate. You need to look at other tours where wickets had bounce and lateral movement. India had a few successes there. Does not mean that pace means Oz is favoured.
Bee bee
Guest
Is this actually the real Virat? You certainly possess his capacity for paranoid grumpiness.
Guy
Guest
Dream on boys, there won't be a blade of grass on the Dharamsala pitch come match day. After three substandard pitches - and, yes, that slow, flat road in Ranchi wasn't up to scratch for test cricket either, as all that tedious defensive batting and a draw showed - this one is unlikely to be better. If the T20 match Australia played against NZ here almost exactly a year ago is any guide, the pitch will suit the quicks for maybe half an hour, then slow right down and be difficult to bat on. India are unlikely to prepare a raging turning - if they lose the toss, they lose the match - and will probably go the slow road, which means a draw, especially with all that rain around up there.
ViratKohli
Roar Rookie
well, it's easy that you blame it on the school The thing is that you are not open to anybody providing a counter to your views and at least understanding them. You are quick to find faults and pass on misconstrued logical statements
Glenn Mitchell
Expert
Apologies. I should have paid greater attention st school.
qwetzen
Guest
And they call themselves professionals. Pffffttt
Curly
Guest
Warner wont get dropped. I think if you play Bird you have maxwell as the option spinner. granted he's no star with the ball but can bowl darts to keep an end and offer a rest to the main 4. Amaazing we're considering O'Keeffe as a legitimate top 3 or 4 bowler, but he has performed as another "youngster". Usman wont get a chance. They will keep the current 11 with the only change likely Bird/Agar for Lyon only if the GOAT is unable to bowl.
Glenn Mitchell
Expert
All I am alluding to Virat is most people would say that the SCG is the most spin friendly Test pitch in AUS and about the only one where AUS regularly considers two spinners. How do we arrive at that answer? By looking at past scorecards and seeing that spinners have profited more there than they have at the WACA for example. So, I do feel that a good indicator of a pitch is to look back at past scorecards. When you do that for Dharamsala you see 89 out of 99 wickets this season to have fallen to bowlers have been by the quicks. I apologise if you see this way of looking at things to be unacceptable and unprofessional.
ViratKohli
Roar Rookie
I think overall test averages are always skewed and cannot be compared when you have different home playing conditions. Just my thought and clearly you think otherwise. Yes, I agree now - "Dharamsala’s pacy pitch set to favour Aussies"
ViratKohli
Roar Rookie
Sorry Sir, wont push this along - i have stretched a lot anyways. I accept if you say so. One might argue that sample size is very small and surprise surprise - its the first Test on the ground, one more thing which we hadn't discussed is that usually in Ranji there is no home team playing which in case of the test is a huge factor for curator. Also, I think Anurag Thakur might also have a say and may influence the pitch - speculation here. I will go with the expert and accept "Dharamsala’s pacy pitch set to favour Aussies"
ViratKohli
Roar Rookie
Why don't we meet, i might gain a lot of insights from you and improve my maths, was enlightened that 89/99 is not a ratio. may be i can make this a topic for PhD. Here is an excerpt from math.com (http://www.math.com/school/subject1/lessons/S1U2L1DP.html)- you can google for other examples - "The most common way to write a ratio is as a fraction, 3/6. We could also write it using the word "to," as "3 to 6." Finally, we could write this ratio using a colon between the two numbers, 3:6. Be sure you understand that these are all ways to write the same number." I clearly see that you will go beyond any reasonable means to prove me wrong and so its not worth an argument.
Glenn Mitchell
Expert
I would have thought looking at past scorecards would in most cases give you an indication of the way a pitch plays. I would think, for example, that an analysis of scorecards from WACA matches would indicate that pace bowling has been the most dominant form. I have yet to see a Test match at the WACA where out of the blue spinners become the dominant bowler. Out of interest, given your expertise with respect to IND conditions, would you be able to provide me with grounds that have a similar trend where around 90% of the wickets have fallen to pace bowlers? I would be interested to see just how many other grounds have a similar disparity to Dharamsala. I would be equally interested as to your opinion as to which Test ground in AUS is the one that is regarded as the most spin friendly and the one that AUS chooses two spinners on more than any other?
ViratKohli
Roar Rookie
Can I get real viral copyright please
ViratKohli
Roar Rookie
Again a difference in thought processes Shaving the grass may not necessarily deaden the surface was my point and you are now mentioning "deaden the amount of lateral movement" I feel this is a more enhanced phrase and is completely different from " deaden the surface" In some instances especially in north India it is important to shave te grass to reduce the binding of the soil otherwise there would be 600 runs in the 2nd innings and we would need more than 5 days. Again it's not an expert analysis and don't counter me on this. It's just that I don't see shaving the grass deadens the surface