Kumar Bahukhandi
Spin bowling is expected to play a role during the second Test between India and Australia. Adelaide Oval pitch curator Hoff said that the presence of grass will help the fast bowlers in the beginning, while spinners will also play a role as the match progresses.
The second match of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia will be played in Adelaide. It will be a day-night match and will be played with a pink ball. Before the match, Adelaide Oval pitch curator Damien Hoff said that six mm of grass will be left on the pitch so that the ball does not get old quickly during the day-night match here. India is currently leading the BGT series 1-0 after a record 295-run win in Perth. Spin bowling is expected to play a role during the second Test between India and Australia.
Adelaide Pitch – Photo : Twitter
Spinners will also get help
Hoff said that the presence of grass will help the fast bowlers in the beginning, while spinners will also play a role as the match progresses. Hoff said, ‘History shows that batting in the milky light in Adelaide is difficult. There will be six mm grass on the pitch. We are trying to ensure that all aspects of the game get a chance to play a role during the match.’
Hoff’s statement on the type of grass
He said, ‘We are trying to leave grass that is dry and hard. We are doing this so that we can get maximum speed and bounce.’ In the Perth Test, batting became easier as the match progressed. Hoff has similar plans for the pink ball match. Hoff said, ‘Spin usually plays a role, so the ball can go faster due to grass and usually gets good bounce. This is the plan. Hopefully as the ball gets older, the batsmen will be able to take advantage of it and if there is a partnership, they will take advantage of it.’
Spinners always dominate Adelaide
Spinners did not play much of a role in the Perth Test and the curator said that spinners will get more help at the Adelaide Oval. Speaking on the role of spinners at Adelaide, Hoff said, ‘Spin always plays an important role in Adelaide. You need to choose a specialist spinner. There should never be a question of ‘should we choose or not?’. It should always be like this. From my side, always choose a spinner. The idea behind leaving that extra grass is that the spinner should benefit from it.’
The goal is to have a good and balanced match
He reiterated that the goal is to have a good, balanced match. The curator said, ‘Usually fast bowlers should get some assistance throughout the match. And we know that fast bowlers can do that. Spin can play a role in the night session. We are trying to get that balance right…we are working hard to ensure that there is a balance between bat and ball.’ There is a possibility of storm on the opening day of the match, which is unusual here at this time of the year. This will be Team India’s first pink ball Test in Australia after India were bundled out for 36 runs in the second innings at the same ground in the year 2020. Hoff, however, said that even then there was no fault in the pitch.
India vs Australia – Photo : BCCI
Australia: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.
