Last Updated: March 05, 2023, 15:48 IST
Rohit Sharma (left) and Virat Kohli during 3rd Test in Indore. (AP Photo)
Batting has been quite challenging on the pitches prepared for the ongoing India-Australia Test series
Australia bounced back after two crushing defeats to win the Indore Test in style against India. Spinners continue to rule the roost with batters from both the teams struggling for runs.
True that batters from either side seem ill-equipped to face quality spin bowling, the pitches tailormade for spinners haven’t helped their cause either. In Indore, the ball began turning square in the first session itself with India batting order going down like nine pins.
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India captain Rohit Sharma though put up a defensive front when facing questions regarding the pitch. Rohit argued that spin is his team’s strength and he’s not worried about ‘what people outside are speaking about’.
Former India opener and world cup winner Kris Srikkanth has slammed the pitches saying on such surfaces, nobody can be expected to score runs even Virat Kohli.
“On these pitches, batting is very difficult. Whoever it is, batting is difficult. Let it be anybody, be it Virat Kohli, no one can score runs on these pitches. If you looked at it, (Matthew) Kuhnemann, bowling in the first innings, got the ball to rip through and turn square,” Srikkanth was quoted as saying by India Today.
“On these wickets, taking wickets is not a big thing. Even if I had bowled, I would have picked up wickets. These are all hard talks, we have to accept them,” he added.
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Srikkanth went back in time to point out how India don’t have to prepare rank turners to ensure Australia don’t win. “Not a good advertisement for Test cricket at all. They are doing a mistake. Yes, if you see the 2008 series against Australia. The pitches weren’t rank turners but India would win the series 2-0,” he recalled.
Srikkanth continued, “But here, the ball is turning square from Day 1. It’s hard to watch the batting on these pitches. It’s not good advertisement for Test cricket. There is nothing wrong in having home advantage. But you have to prepare some decent wickets.”
The fourth and final Test of the series will be played in Ahmedabad.
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