The dust has not yet settled over the pitch prepared for the Pink Ball Test, which ended at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in two days last week. On Thursday, Team India, on an incredible high after the huge win in the third Test, will look to deliver the KO punch against England at the same venue.
Even before the Indians have sealed the series and ensured they are through to the ICC World Test Championship final, to be held this summer in England, the morale is high. Had there been any doubts this Indian side, led by Virat Kohli, they would not have given speedster Jasprit Bumrah “wedding leave.”
The dashing fast bowler bowled very little in the Pink Ball Test where R.Ashwin and Axar Patel showed they were lean, mean and menacing. That the Test ended in two days has created a brouhaha across the world.
From England to Australia and West Indies to India, the debate and discourse on the pitch has been intense. Perhaps, it need talismanic R.Ashwin to offer the media his treatise at a press conference on what makes a good pitch. For the record, when India batted second in the Pink Ball Test, Rohit Sharma and Shubhman Gill scored in T20 style, as if suggesting there was nothing wrong with the pitch.
There are reports emanating from the English camp how their side is feeling sick, literally. Daily Mail, a well known tabloid, has talked of how Joe Root and company managed to struggle to have a practice session on Tuesday.
For India to make it to the ICC World Test Championship final, all they need is a draw. Going by the mood in the Indian camp, each one is like a gladiator in the old Roman amphitheatre, baying for blood.
If you think the curator is going to change the character of the pitch just because of criticism or that the fans in Ahmedabad are not getting enough to see, you are wrong.
One will have to wait and see what is in store on Thursday morning. The renamed stadium at Motera is a delight. It is an architecture marvel and England will do well to play positive cricket and stop whining about conditions.
When they won the series in Sri Lanka 2-0 and came to India, their mood was positive. When they won the first Test in Chennai, they were fine, where Joe Root hammered the Indian attack. Competing in the Bio Bubble in India is hard and requires skills plus a very fine temperament.
The heat in Ahmedabad is different from Chennai. It is dry and can be hard on the skin. If they struggled in the afternoon and under lights in the third Test, the fourth Test may be even more challenging. Yet, one cannot call the Poms pushovers.
It will be interesting to see who replaces Bumrah. The toss-up will be possibly between Mohd Siraj and Umesh Yadav. Though the workload for the fast bowlers is less in this series, one of them should be playing.
One hopes the fans inside the Narendra Modi Stadium get to see more cricket. They have been waiting for a long time and the superbly built stadium with a 360 degree view is indeed captivating.
