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India’s brazen curators are keeping all options open for the fourth Test, preparing two potential pitches for the Border-Gavaskar series finale in Ahmedabad.
Australia remain uncertain about the pitch they will play on at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium for the Test against India, starting on Thursday.
India coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma both had lengthy inspections of the centre wicket when the hosts trained at the Ahmedabad ground on Tuesday.
Acting Australia captain Steve Smith was none the wiser when speaking on Wednesday.
“I can’t remember it being the case,” Smith said of ever not knowing which pitch he would be playing on so close to a match starting.
“It might have been a couple of (pitches) prepared maybe a bit longer out than two days but I can’t remember two days.”
Pitch discussion has been a constant during the first three Tests, with India purposely rolling out spin-friendly surfaces to suit their chances of toppling Australia.
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But those tactics backfired during the third Test in Indore as Australia pulled off an upset nine-wicket win in a match that ended early on day three.
Travis Head and Steve Smith inspect the pitch in Ahmedabad. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Spin accounted for 26 of the 31 wickets taken at Holkar Stadium, leading to the International Cricket Council [ICC] slapping the pitch with the dreaded “poor” rating.
After the match, Sharma backed India’s decision to demand curators prepare heavily spinning pitches that make it difficult for batters to play on.
Officials in Indian team uniforms have been spotted out near the centre wicket for extended periods ahead of all three Tests so far in Nagpur, Delhi and Indore.
“We want to play to our strength at home and not worry what the people outside are talking about. Our strength is spin and our batting depth,” he said. “People have to play well for the game to last for five days.
“Games are not lasting for five days even outside India.”
The president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association [MPCA], Abhilash Khandeka, said Indore had been treated unfairly for the state of the pitch.
Indore was a last-minute choice to host the third Test after the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] on February 12 deemed the ground in Dharamsala to be unsuitable for the match.
“Two curators from BCCI had come eight to 10 days before the match. The pitch was prepared under their supervision. The MPCA had no role in making the pitch,” Khandeka told The Times of India this week.
“I want to make it clear that just like any other state board association in international matches, MPCA has no role in making the pitch.
“BCCI curators come and they get the direction from BCCI along with the Indian team management.
“I’m surprised it has been rated as poor because it produced a good result. Spinners have prevailed in the match. ICC report has surprised me.”
The first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series have failed to go into a fourth day.
Match referee Chris Broad wasted no time handing down his pitch verdict, with the ICC confirming the “poor” rating about seven hours after Australia won.
Matthew Kuhnemann celebrates taking the wicket of Umesh Yadav. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start,” Broad said.
“The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”
The BCCI has 14 days to decide whether to appeal the sanction. Indian media reports have declared the BCCI will likely challenge the rating.
Poor ratings for pitches cost venues three demerit points, with any ground that accrues five demerits over a five-year period in danger of being banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months.
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