Indian pitches for England series

[Buffet]

Kohli has scored 223 runs so far here and still going strong. Usual consensus in PP is that whenever Kohli scores , it's an easy track. Kohli can't do well on a bowler friendly track. That's the view by many in PP.

On other hands, Ashwin bowled 67/5 on the same pitch. Usual consensus in PP is that Ashwin picks up 5-fers on spin friendly tracks and boosts his stats. He can't do well on batsman friendly tracks.

What's the verdict in PP now? Do we have an easy track where Kohli scored or we have a difficult track where Ahswin cashed in?

PPers Discuss..

 

[Sachin136]

It was a difficult track when Ashwin was bowling and it flattened out when Kohli came on.

 

[SandyB]

Haha ! Great thread .. Now that even the English commies have mentioned that there wasn't much turn on the wicket, and that only Virat has managed to bat well .. let's see what excuse is used to discredit either one ...

 

[Zak_Fan]

We already have an understanding on this. [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION]

It was an easy track with 4 or 5 doctored spots which can only be exploited by Ashwin. Since England had no Ashwin, Kohli too cashed in on this easy pitch.

 

[Tusker]

It was a difficult track when Ashwin was bowling and it flattened out when Kohli came on.

You mean Flat when Kohli Batted first , then square turner when it was Englands turn to Bat and then back to flat again when it was India's turn to bat in the 2nd inngs ...


Anyone for guessing the outcome of the 4th inngs ?

 

[Buffet]

It was a difficult track when Ashwin was bowling and it flattened out when Kohli came on.

Kohli has batted before and after Ashwin. How does this flat, difficult and flat sequence works?

 

[Navdeep Srivastava]

It is low and slow but not mine field and there is certainly very less turn apart from few delivery here and there, Ashwin was majestic using his flight and dip to get 5wicket.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

It's a flat wicket. England crumbled under scoreboard pressure.

 

[Thomaskutty]

It's a difficult pitch but Kohli has been bossing it, another ton on the cards.

 

[Buffet]

You mean Flat when Kohli Batted first , then square turner when it was Englands turn to Bat and then back to flat again when it was India's turn to bat in the 2nd inngs ...


Anyone for guessing the outcome of the 4th inngs ?

Likely to be a rank turner, but let's wait and see.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Easy pitch overall. A bit of help for spinners on Day 2 but settled down on Day 3.

From a prediction point of view, Indian pitches have been weird right from NZ series.

English pacers did very well last session. Was it reverse or conventional swing? Didn't watch that session.

England have fought very well and I am very impressed with them.

With that being said, if I am really honest, I would say that while I am glad we did get a pitch like Rajkot which tested us big time and helped us understand our weaknesses, its disappointing to see us giving such easy pitches (that go against our strengths) one after the another in this English tour.

Basically what we are doing is giving pitches to England

1. Where they don't get tested against spin
2. Where they can use their depth of batting to pile up scores
3. Where they can use pacers decently and hide their spinners when they don't do well

Every nation has a charm. Don't want rank turners but atleast give a track that has consistent spin. Those pitches make for good viewing. These tracks are a bit boring to watch.

 

[jusarrived]

There is enough in it for everyone , pace bowlers , spinners and batsmen

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Easy pitch overall. A bit of help for spinners on Day 2 but settled down on Day 3.

From a prediction point of view, Indian pitches have been weird right from NZ series.

English pacers did very well last session. Was it reverse or conventional swing? Didn't watch that session.

England have fought very well and I am very impressed with them.

With that being said, if I am really honest, I would say that while I am glad we did get a pitch like Rajkot which tested us big time and helped us understand our weaknesses, its disappointing to see us giving such easy pitches (that go against our strengths) one after the another in this English tour.

Basically what we are doing is giving pitches to England

1. Where they don't get tested against spin
2. Where they can use their depth of batting to pile up scores
3. Where they can use pacers decently and hide their spinners when they don't do well

Every nation has a charm. Don't want rank turners but atleast give a track that has consistent spin. Those pitches make for good viewing. These tracks are a bit boring to watch.

Just to add to the above point....I am not suggesting pitches shouldn't have anything for pacers.

On the contrary I am suggesting, it should have something for pacers too. That would make it a fun contest.

What I mean by my 3rd point is that when you have a flat track and a big score, you can make your pacers and spinners bowl dry and wait for the opposition to make mistakes.

 

[Ab Fan]

Good batting pitch..

The team that wins the toss has advantage. Their batsmen can pile on runs and put the opposition in pressure. There is help for spinners as the game progresses.

However, runs should come if you know how to score and how to survive some of difficult period.

Both kohli and Ashwin did great here along with Pujara who deserves to get mentioned too.

 

[Indiafan]

Damn, this is the ultimate catch-22.

 

[Bilal7]

Looks like Donald Trump becoming president-elect has made a lot of posters a lot less intelligent too.

First of all, I have never claimed that Kohli has never scored on difficult pitches or that Ashwin never perfoms on flat tracks. However, those are few are far in between. Kohli is a better batsman than Ashwin is a bowler, for future reference.

This particular pitch was neither turning too much, nor totally flat. It was somewhere in the middle and the Indian players played well after taking advantage of the won toss.

 

[Buffet]

There is enough in it for everyone , pace bowlers , spinners and batsmen

I personally go with this one, but pitch is not difficult to bat time. It's difficult to score quickly for sure.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Its a batting pitch as Ab Fan said. Not a flat pitch.

Kohli was playing in a different surface compared to others from what i hear. Steered us out of trouble from a tricky area.

Our pacers didnt extract enough life out of the second new ball.

Will be interesting to see what this track holds for us tomorrow.

 

[Buffet]

Its a batting pitch as Ab Fan said. Not a flat pitch.

Kohli was playing in a different surface compared to others from what i hear. Steered us out of trouble from a tricky area.

Our pacers didnt extract enough life out of the second new ball.

Will be interesting to see what this track holds for us tomorrow.

Pitch has uneven bounce now. I saw Indian second inning a bit. Ball was also reversing a bit. Wicket to wicket bowling will cause lots of trouble and that's what Eng did. Kohli looked like batting on different surface for sure. He looked in very good touch. Still, not much of turn so far. Without turn or even with slow turn, it won't be too hard to bat out time, but it will be hard to score runs. Kohli scored quickly, but not many batsmen can play his game.

 

[street cricketer]

Saw this online:

27 wickets have fallen in the NZ-Pak match (14 yesterday and 13 today) and all of them have fallen to pacers. Wonder what would've been the reaction if a similar thing had happened for the spinners on an Indian track.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Pitch has uneven bounce now. I saw Indian second inning a bit. Ball was also reversing a bit. Wicket to wicket bowling will cause lots of trouble and that's what Eng did. Kohli looked like batting on different surface for sure. He looked in very good touch. Still, not much of turn so far. Without turn or even with slow turn, it won't be too hard to bat out time, but it will be hard to score runs. Kohli scored quickly, but not many batsmen can play his game.

I see... Tomorrow should be interesting. Indian pitches have become very moody these days. Lol.

When England batted, it was very hard to get wickets of the old ball.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Hardly any turn on a Day 4 pitch except from the rough in one end for lefties.

50 over old ball will have slow turn.

Uneven bounce is there for some balls.

There was some reverse available but our pacers didn't bowl as well as one would like which put a lot of burden on our spinners.

As Buffet said, a good pitch for blockathon. If you try to force the pace, it can be hard.

England have their hopes alive. Great temperament shown.

 

[Varun]

Some old-school test cricket after a long time.

 

[sam_ahm]

Good resilience by England, the ball is keeping low at times and that could be the major problem for ENG tomorrow, otherwise surely not much in the pitch. It could be difficult for Duckett to hand around, but Root, Moeen, Baristow and Stokes need to really dig in.

 

[Adijazz1706]

A fe grubbers already so ~impossible to survive for long in such circumstances.

 

[troodon]

Not easy to score on this pitch.

Disappointed that this is another slow pitch with very little turn. Batsmen cannot get out unless they are trying to score fast.

Credit to Broad. That was a bruta spell of pace bowling.

I wonder why India is giving England these kind of pitches while NZ and SA got some Cobras.

 

[troodon]

I have a feeling this can end up as another draw. England batsman can block for the entire day. No snakes in the pitch. Just the odd ball keeping low.

Very poor pitches so far this series.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Not easy to score on this pitch.

Disappointed that this is another slow pitch with very little turn. Batsmen cannot get out unless they are trying to score fast.

Credit to Broad. That was a bruta spell of pace bowling.

I wonder why India is giving England these kind of pitches while NZ and SA got some Cobras.

NZ got no cobras bro.

Remember what NZ spinners did to us when they faced us on a rank turner in world T20.

In cobras, they would have averaged 20.

Our spinners would have averaged 10.

But those pitches were much better than these pitches.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Someone like Aravinda de silva would bat there all day. Problem with English batsmen and some Indian batsmen was they did not know how to use the depth of the crease on a slow pitch. Yes it is not a predictable pitch. Had some spots, some variable bounce. But those are nullified by slowness of the wicket. Hard part was unpredictability of how much the ball would turn. Lot of balls did not turn at all. They just went straight through. I am assuming it was unintentional. But some balls turned sharply. One thing i will grant is post DRS batsmen approach has changed. They try to offer bat more than pad which increases the probability of getting out. If you go back to 90s Jimmy Adams padded almost entire day in India to earn a draw.

 

[Sanzcool]

Someone like Aravinda de silva would bat there all day. Problem with English batsmen and some Indian batsmen was they did not know how to use the depth of the crease on a slow pitch. Yes it is not a predictable pitch. Had some spots, some variable bounce. But those are nullified by slowness of the wicket. Hard part was unpredictability of how much the ball would turn. Lot of balls did not turn at all. They just went straight through. I am assuming it was unintentional. But some balls turned sharply. One thing i will grant is post DRS batsmen approach has changed. They try to offer bat more than pad which increases the probability of getting out. If you go back to 90s Jimmy Adams padded almost entire day in India to earn a draw.

And yet Aravinda's avg in India is just 25.

A better example could have been Andy Flower who has tormented India in India

 

[BD-fan]

Why only Kohli? Shami, the #11 had a average of 26. He must not have batted when the it was turning, no?
+++
England played like England. They don't have any prayers here. India >>> England at home. Just like SL is a better team than Zim. De Silva, Gunaratne piled up the runs, Herath got wickets in bushels, sorry, in truck loads. It has nothing to do with pitch playing tricks.
+++
The Pitch played perfectly. Seaming and flattening out first few days 4/5 days started to turn. Good toss to win.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Simple, Kohli batted well. He is improving as a test batsman and the day is not far when he will become an ATG in tests too.

 

[jnaveen1980]

And yet Aravinda's avg in India is just 25.

A better example could have been Andy Flower who has tormented India in India

Aravinda predominantly played in India in the 90s. Dark days of Indian cricket where Wadekar and Azhar influenced in getting pitches that were deliberately under-prepared. These are not the kind of pitches we see these days. Those were horrible pitches. This is nowhere close to those pitches. Besides ARavinda started peaking only after 1996 world cup . His average in Tests after that was 53. He was definitely a great player against spin. Flower was ofcourse a great player. One of a kind. I have seen Sidhu, Azhar play against spin. Dravid was the weakest against spin. It was that good a line up. Among the current crop only Kohli can be compared with them. Pujara can survive.

 

[Sanzcool]

Aravinda predominantly played in India in the 90s. Dark days of Indian cricket where Wadekar and Azhar influenced in getting pitches that were deliberately under-prepared. These are not the kind of pitches we see these days. Those were horrible pitches. This is nowhere close to those pitches. Besides ARavinda started peaking only after 1996 world cup . His average in Tests after that was 53. He was definitely a great player against spin. Flower was ofcourse a great player. One of a kind. I have seen Sidhu, Azhar play against spin. Dravid was the weakest against spin. It was that good a line up. Among the current crop only Kohli can be compared with them. Pujara can survive.

India were still scoring 400 in those horrible wickets

After 96 WC, Aravinda played just 2 tests in India, 2 less a sample space to come to a conclusion

 

[jnaveen1980]

India were still scoring 400 in those horrible wickets

After 96 WC, Aravinda played just 2 tests in India, 2 less a sample space to come to a conclusion

SL was an irrelevant side until 1996 world cup. Till such time it was a messed up unit. Max max Aravinda was irresponsible with his batting. Having seen his batting against top spinners like Warne, Saqlain he was definitely one of the best on par with someone like Azhar if not better.

 

[James]

It was a good toss to win, but honestly speaking England got outplayed and Kohli set the standard emerging as by far the best batsman on both sides in these conditions.

 

[Tusker]

Aravinda predominantly played in India in the 90s. Dark days of Indian cricket where Wadekar and Azhar influenced in getting pitches that were deliberately under-prepared. These are not the kind of pitches we see these days. Those were horrible pitches. This is nowhere close to those pitches. Besides ARavinda started peaking only after 1996 world cup . His average in Tests after that was 53. He was definitely a great player against spin. Flower was ofcourse a great player. One of a kind. I have seen Sidhu, Azhar play against spin. Dravid was the weakest against spin. It was that good a line up. Among the current crop only Kohli can be compared with them. Pujara can survive.

on those same pitches Indians scored 400+ 15 times.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...eam=6;template=results;type=team;view=innings

 

[EliteCynical]

SL was an irrelevant side until 1996 world cup. Till such time it was a messed up unit. Max max Aravinda was irresponsible with his batting. Having seen his batting against top spinners like Warne, Saqlain he was definitely one of the best on par with someone like Azhar if not better.

Mad Max

 

[street cricketer]

Why aren't we seeing turners in this series?

I mean, we saw some raging turners in the SA series while 2 wickets were turners in the NZ series. But we have only seen flat and flattish slow wickets in the series. All the pre series build up was built upon the English collapse on the raging turners in Bangladesh and everyone were expecting similar turners at Rajkot and Vizag. But both of them turned out to be flat wickets for the most part.

Why haven't we encountered a proper turner this series?

Can we expect one in the remaining venues?

Is this some sort of a friendship pact signed between the ECB and the BCCI before the start of the series?
I mean, the Saffers and the Kiwis might feel aggrieved at the special treatment given to England so far, and probably rightly so too..

 

[street cricketer]

Mohali wicket..



Thoughts?

 

[Thivagar]

I mean, we saw some raging turners in the SA series while 2 wickets were turners in the NZ series. But we have only seen flat and flattish slow wickets in the series. All the pre series build up was built upon the English collapse on the raging turners in Bangladesh and everyone were expecting similar turners at Rajkot and Vizag. But both of them turned out to be flat wickets for the most part.

Why haven't we encountered a proper turner this series?

Can we expect one in the remaining venues?

Is this some sort of a friendship pact signed between the ECB and the BCCI before the start of the series?
I mean, the Saffers and the Kiwis might feel aggrieved at the special treatment given to England so far, and probably rightly so too..

Because India doesn't want Ali and Rashid running through their batting line up. I kinda expected this.

 

[street cricketer]

Because India doesn't want Ali and Rashid running through their batting line up. I kinda expected this.

Surely the Kiwis have arguably better spinners than the English. That didn't deter the BCCI from preparing turners for that series..

It's even surprising given the fact that Moeen, Rashid et al were thoroughly ordinary on the raging turners of Bangladesh.

 

[Thivagar]

Surely the Kiwis have arguably better spinners than the English. That didn't deter the BCCI from preparing turners for that series..

It's even surprising given the fact that Moeen, Rashid et al were thoroughly ordinary on the raging turners of Bangladesh.

The Kiwi spinners are a bit less in experienced and they don't turn much and give good revs like Ali and Rashid do and that helps a lot in turning pitches. Rashid and Ali are also a bit smarter than the Kiwi spinners. Can't really talk much about Ansari yet.

 

[Saurav]

Another weird pitch

Want the rank turners back

 

[EliteCynical]

Surely the Kiwis have arguably better spinners than the English. That didn't deter the BCCI from preparing turners for that series..

It's even surprising given the fact that Moeen, Rashid et al were thoroughly ordinary on the raging turners of Bangladesh.

Yes, but Eng have batting till number 11 and on any type of pitch, can string up a 200 or so. When you have runs to defend, it doesn't matter if it is Rashid or Santner. A few balls in the right areas, and the batsmen would start sweating.

IMO, this is a decent pitch which will again offer slow turn. Spinners would have to earn the wickets. I am more concerned about the reverse swing. Pitch is again bone dry, ball is getting scruffed so easily even on day 1. I shudder to thing what Anderson ,Stokes and Woakes would do.

 

[Bilal7]

Pretty funny how the 'experts' doing thr pitch analysis keep getting it wrong each time. Hope Rashid and the tail can get another 30 runs and Anderson can get a couple of quick wickets at the top. This has been a competitive series and I want it to remain that way.

 

[Varun]

Pretty funny how the 'experts' doing thr pitch analysis keep getting it wrong each time. Hope Rashid and the tail can get another 30 runs and Anderson can get a couple of quick wickets at the top. This has been a competitive series and I want it to remain that way.

True, calling the pitches these days is akin to forecasting the weather or the stock market - 90% of the time everyone tends to get it wrong.

 

[James]

India can prepare whatever pitches they want. It's their home series. That is the whole point of home advantage - the challenge is so great for the touring side because the hosts get to choose their preferred grounds, capacities, conditions and indeed pitches. This has always been the case and there is nothing wrong with it.

 

[Tusker]

BUMP ... Flat when India bat square turner when they bowl.

 

[Bewal Express]

Pitches have been OK, India are just better.

 

[TestMatch]

The ball wasn't bouncing at all. Stokes was pounding in "bouncers" that reached ankle height.

Kohli and India simply did what should be done in these conditions. England have been really really shoddy, particularly stars like Cook and Root.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Root has been very good in this series. Third best batsman after Kohli and Pujara.

 

[jnaveen1980]

They do not know how to use the crease. Root did okay.

 

[Sidilicious]

The ball wasn't bouncing at all. Stokes was pounding in "bouncers" that reached ankle height.

Kohli and India simply did what should be done in these conditions. England have been really really shoddy, particularly stars like Cook and Root.

Errrrmmmm what???

Did you see the number of lbw appeals that were going above the stumps? There was enough bounce. Woakes and Umesh also bowled quite a few bouncers that went along well.

 

[Sidilicious]

Indian pitches really offer attractive cricket. You can score runs, you can take wickets. You can play your shots, you can get out if you dont play properly.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Pitches have been good in this series. Giving no excuses to opposition teams and fans this time. If you get 400 by batting first and still lose the match then that is not pitch's fault.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Agreed.

If you want to criticize test pitches, you don't need to look further than the Antipodean ones.

Australian pitches are mostly flat and silly run feasts if you can play the pull; and NZ pitches are all about the toss.

 

[Romali_rotti]

It was a good toss to win, but honestly speaking England got outplayed and Kohli set the standard emerging as by far the best batsman on both sides in these conditions.

To be fair this series have been quite competitive, if ENG had a few breaks go their way the series may well have been 1-1 currently. The series may show 3-0 or 4-0 at the end but it was tightly contested. ENG gave India a good fight unlike the previous teams..

 

[Varun]

Pitches have been good in this series. Giving no excuses to opposition teams and fans this time. If you get 400 by batting first and still lose the match then that is not pitch's fault.

Now that we have DRS too (hallelujah!), the whingers are well at bay.

 

[Sidilicious]

Now that we have DRS too (hallelujah!), the whingers are well at bay.

Add a decent crowd to the equation, and we are one of the top places to watch and play cricket. I have a couple of Saffa mates already lined up to watch a test at Eden Gardens when SA tour next.

 

[James]

To be fair this series have been quite competitive, if ENG had a few breaks go their way the series may well have been 1-1 currently. The series may show 3-0 or 4-0 at the end but it was tightly contested. ENG gave India a good fight unlike the previous teams..

Agreed, excellent contest, played in a good spirit for the most part.

England can still get a consolation win in the final Test which would restore some respectability.

Adil Rashid, 22 wickets at 32 average, very good performance for an English spinner touring India.

 

[Varun]

Add a decent crowd to the equation, and we are one of the top places to watch and play cricket. I have a couple of Saffa mates already lined up to watch a test at Eden Gardens when SA tour next.

I'm heading to Chennai next weekend to catch the final test. Barring the inevitable humidity (yes, even in December), I'm sure it'll be good fun.

 

[joly]

To be fair this series have been quite competitive, if ENG had a few breaks go their way the series may well have been 1-1 currently. The series may show 3-0 or 4-0 at the end but it was tightly contested. ENG gave India a good fight unlike the previous teams..

True that,however the pitches have been far easy on the touring team and have given no home advantages to india otherwise all the tests would have finished within 3 days.

 

[Pantani]

I think the pitches have been perfectly fine. Perhaps this one was a little on the flatter side, but still you can't blame the pitch for letting a team take a 231 run lead when you have them six wickets down trailing by 93.

 

[Devadwal]

India won Two series against England on flats pitches ( 2016 ,2024 )

While people's are/ were think india won due to pitches unlike Pakistan who recently won a test against England only due to used pitch.

Indian pitch are now most fair pitches in world cricket.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

India won Two series against England on flats pitches ( 2016 ,2024 )

While people's are/ were think india won due to pitches unlike Pakistan who recently won a test against England only due to used pitch.

Indian pitch are now most fair pitches in world cricket.

Always been the case.