NIGHT SHIFT
India ventures into unknown, England seeks answers for ‘pink ball turner’
A virgin Motera strip has become the big talking point as India captain Virat Kohli prepares the right pink ball questionnaire to trouble a spoilt-for-choice England in the day-night third Test starting here on Wednesday.
Ahmedabad as a cricketing venue has been witness to a lot of cricketing feats in Indian cricket -- from Sunil Gavaskar’s famous late cut to complete 10,000 runs in Tests to Kapil Dev’s best bowling figures of 9 for 83 and also him eclipsing Richard Hadlee’s then world record of highest wickets.
On Wednesday, Ishant Sharma joining Kapil as the second Indian pacer to play 100 Tests would add to the momentous occasion and Kohli scoring a hundred is just what the 55,000 odd spectators, who would be allowed in, might crave for.
The refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium looks colossal under lights but
the first Test match in many years would mean that even the home team wouldn’t expect a lot of advantage.
It would prefer a square turner to go 2-1 up in a high-stakes game but whether it actually gets one remains to be seen.
As senior opener Rohit Sharma was clear in team’s choice of surface -- a turner that helps Ravichandran Ashwin and
Axar Patel just like Joe
Root would have opted for a green top at the Headingley or the Old Trafford.
There are a few more questions that would demand answers.
How would the twilight period be for the batsmen as James Anderson feels that the ball swings more in that phase? And with a 2:30 pm start, how much will the dew have a bearing during the final session? The ball would be difficult to grip at that point for slow bowlers and the pitch, despite grass being shaved
off, might ease out with ball skidding off the surface.
When there are so many unknown variables that warrant factoring, any captain would like to assess conditions as senior speedster Ishant said on Monday.
His opposite number James Anderson however has no doubts whatsoever that by the time clock ticks 2:30 pm on Wednesday, the track will bear a bald look, similar to Chepauk.
Umesh Yadav passing the fitness test was good news for the Indian camp as Kuldeep Yadav is likely to be dropped from the playing XI.
Umesh, along with Ishant and the now injured Mohammed Shami, had polished off Bangladesh twice inside six sessions in the inaugural Pink Test match in Kolkata. But this England team, with Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, will pose a far greater challenge.