The pitches were as much a highlight of the India-South Africa Test series as the batting of Dean Elgar and Virat Kohli, or the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj. They had better be, when two Tests get over in less than five days combined. It was best summed up by Rohit Sharma’s comment that there should be no cribbing on turners in India.
There will soon be ‘surface tension’ again, before the India-England Test series gets underway on January 25. This is an inescapable discussion, more so when England and Australia come to India. When India hosted Australia in February-March 2023, the pitches became central characters. The first three Tests each ended on the third day in spin-friendly conditions.
It was more or less the same in the three series that India hosted prior to that, against England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. There are indications that spin will welcome England in at least the first three Tests in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Rajkot. The climate may alter plans in Ranchi and Dharamsala. Instructions are yet to be sent, but people have been informally advised to be ready to roll out turners.
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Doesn’t take long to add tweak to the track
Ruling out seaming conditions, preparations are going ahead with two options: A) ‘Normal’ Indian Test pitches of old, which don’t offer much to the bowlers. B) Tracks on which the ball turns from the early stages of a Test match.
Preparing the first and converting it to the second requires a few days of sunshine and minimal watering. At times, it may need irregular rolling of the pitch. The less the moisture, the drier and more conducive the soil is for spin. If the air is dry and the sun is out, it shouldn’t take experienced pitch curators more than five days to transform a ‘normal’ sort of a pitch into one aiding spin.
India have preferred spin as the principal mode of attack in home Tests in the World Test Championship (WTC). This phase saw Axar Patel return amazing hauls. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and even Jayant Yadav, in limited opportunities, came up with eye-catching figures. New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel produced a stunner by registering the third-ever 10-for in an innings in Test history. At least eight of the last 12 games didn’t see a fourth day.
WTC points and turn to spin in home Tests
With WTC points at stake once again, each win is valuable. India end the 2023-25 cycle with five Tests in Australia, after engaging in a total of 10 against England, Bangladesh and New Zealand at home. To ensure that not a lot hinges on the last series, like it did against Australia in the previous cycle, it’s imperative to optimise the home games. Some fiery spells from Bumrah and Siraj on Indian tracks notwithstanding, spin will be Plan A against England.
Departing winter in India can make things different in certain places. But Hyderabad, Vizag and Rajkot in late January and early February are good places to get the turners in, according to people in the know. Ranchi? They are not sure. Dharamsala, up in the mountains? No chance.
In all likelihood, the hosts will stick to what they think their strength is to grab the maximum from the first three stops. No marks for guessing what kind of tracks Ben Stokes and boys will order during their 10-day training stint in Abu Dhabi, before flying out to India.
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