Bangalore pitch ‘below average’
In another blow to the image of Indian cricket, the Bangalore wicket on which the second India-Australia Test was played has been rated ‘below average’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad in his report.
HT has found out that Broad rated the M Chinnaswamy Stadium outfield very good but the wicket below average. A wicket is termed below average if it has either very little carry or bounce or more than occasional seam movement. Earlier, the wicket for the opening Test match at Pune had been termed poor.
While the wicket at Pune got the poor rating because of being a rank turner, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium wicket saw balls keeping low. The low bounce cost quite a few wickets, none more glaring than that of Steve Smith in the second innings when the batsman was struck low on his pads in front of the wickets.
This is how the ESPNCricinfo’s live commentary described Umesh Yadav’s delivery that got Smith: “A grubber to end all grubbers. This is short of a length, and doesn’t leave the ground at all. Hits him on the boot almost. Bang in front of middle. No doubt about that decision. This would have almost bounced twice before reaching the stumps.”
A stunned Smith then suffered a brain fade and made the mistake of looking up at his dressing room to check if he should ask for a review. Earlier, in India’s second innings, captain Virat Kohli also played for normal bounce but his bat came over the bounce and he was ruled leg before wicket. Others who were done in by the low bounce in the Test were Mitch Marsh and R Ashwin.
The low bounce made it difficult to play both the pacers and spinners. Josh Hazelwood, Nathan Lyon, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin all took five in an innings at Bangalore.
It has been a strange strategy by India to go for these wickets in the opening two Tests. Despite having a strong all-round team and having defeated England on good surfaces, the ploy to use spin-friendly tracks reflects a defensive mindset, where Kohli and coach Anil Kumble don’t want to leave anything to chance.
At Pune, they were expecting the Australians to panic. But the ploy backfired. India were under pressure in Bangalore also, before a 118-run partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane bailed them out.