India would love to have replay of 2nd Test at ‘new’ Motera
In a few days from now, Indian cricket fans will witness a crucial match which could well become a part of India’s cricket history. The third Test match of the ongoing 4-game series between India and England will be played at the spanking new stadium at Ahmedabad situated on the banks of the Sabarmati river.
The refurbished stadium at Motera, named after Sardar Patel, the iron man of India, could well be equated to a coliseum considering it can accommodate a massive 1,10,000 fans baying for an India victory just like the Roman’s did when their gladiators slew hapless slaves.
Whether there will be blood-shed or not remains to be seen as the curators are busy preparing the pitch which will host the battle, the stakes of which are pretty high — the slot to play the final of the World Test Championship at Lord’s later this year. Motera, a relatively newer spot in the list of Indian Test venues — the first Test was played against the West Indies in 1983 — has its name recorded in the annals of Indian cricket with a few significant records.
The second Test on the ground saw Sunil Gavaskar reach the milestone of 10,000 runs — the first batsman in the history of the game to do so — against Pakistan in 1987. The Indian maestro had (in 1983) blazed the same turf with a quick fire 90 off 120 balls against the Windies quartet of pacers led by Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall. Amdavadis were also blessed to watch the mercurial all-rounder Kapil Dev go past Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 Test wickets to become the highest wicket taker in Test matches against Sri Lanka in 1994.
Sachin Tendulkar too put Motera on the map becoming the first cricketer to go pass 30,000 international runs against the Lankans in 2009.
To balance the book of Indian records, South Africa skittled India for a measly 76 runs (their second lowest Test score at home) and finished the Test match in three days in 2008.
The forthcoming Test match will see two Indian players notch up personal landmarks. Delhi pacer, Ishant Sharma will play his 100th Test while Ravichandran Ashwin needs just six scalps to cross the 400 wicket barrier in his 77th Test match.
The third Test, a day/night affair played with a pink ball, has confounded experts, considering how the pitch (and ball) will behave. Ideally, India would love to have a replay of the second Test where the ball caused puffs of dust to explode on a rank turner from day one. SG, the manufacturers of the pink ball have added extra lacquer for better visibility under floodlights and make the orb last longer. This, in turn, will aid the swing and seam bowlers as was seen during India’s first pink ball encounter at Kolkata where Indian pacers swamped Bangladesh taking 19 of the 20 wickets that fell.
For the pink ball to last longer, the playing surface needs to have a minimum of 6 mm cover of grass which will certainly lighten up the eyes of the pacers in both teams. While India does have quality fast men in Ishant and Jasprit Bumrah, it would be interesting to see if they will give any advantage to the visitors who have the redoubtable James Anderson and Stuart Broad in their ranks.
England’s seamers are currently enjoying their practice sessions on side pitches that have a generous tinge of green but their management will be vary of not being tricked into believing the same generosity will be extended to the 22-yards of the main, match surface.
The question, therefore, arises as to what will be India’s game plan going into the Test match? The news coming from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (through the usual, invisible sources) is that the playing track will be bald and bereft of grass to aid Indian spinners. Considering the form shown by Ashwin (with the bat too), Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav the home team will be plumping for a spin friendly pitch which will give them an advantage.
The toss, a crucial component in this series so far, will also play a role but may not worry the Indians going by their resolute show with the bat in their second innings of the second Test at Chennai.
Will India back their strength and go in with three spinners? Will the pink ball last for 80 overs per innings? Or, will Indians be good sports and give England a level playing field? These will be answered when Virat Kohli and Joe Root walk out for the toss on India’s newest, most modern stadium at Motera.