It is not an overstatement to say that the Indian batters have looked lackluster against spin in recent times. Take account a hard-fought Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series in India, where we were demolished in Indore. Not long ago, Sri Lanka scripted history by beating India in an ODI series after 27-long years. The Lankan pitches were gold dust for likes of Hasaranga, Wellalage and even part-timer Asalanka. However, India got a shocking blow when they were thoroughly outclassed by New Zealand.
After a hiccup in Bengaluru, Mitchell Santner’s mastery gave a shellacking to Rohit Sharma and his men, beating them convincingly in Pune. This made India lose their maiden Test series win at home after a record 4,331 days. India looked like a final frontier for most of the teams but now, New Zealand have showed a way to everyone that the two-time WTC finalists can be vulnerable at home too!
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Despite these setbacks, the Indian team management seems determined to stick to a tried-and-tested formula, requesting a “rank turner” for the third and final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. “It will be rank turner pitch. The team management has requested to prepare a pitch which can help spinners from day 1. It seems the team wants to go on a tried and tested formula,” a source told The Indian Express.
While a rank turner might offer the Indian spinners an advantage, it could also expose the team’s batting frailties once again. The Pune pitch, though challenging, wasn’t a rank turner. However, it was enough to derail the Indian batting line-up. A rank turner in Mumbai, with its added bounce and unpredictable nature, could make life even more difficult for the batters. While Washington Sundar could once again thrive at Wankhede, Santner will definitely going to be a handful for the Indian batters, who lack confidence while playing sweeps or reverse.
The team management’s desire to take advantage of home conditions is reasonable, but it’s crucial to find a balance. It could be wiser to use a pitch that helps the spinners a little bit without being too challenging. An excessively demanding pitch can backfire and expose the Indian team to an embarrassing result.
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