Mohali: There was a time when quick bowlers used to leap out of their beds whenever there was a Test match at the PCA Stadium (now called IS Bindra Stadium) here even a few years back. Not anymore now – the Mohali pitch has undergone a sea of change and has instead turned out to be a deathbed for quicks, a surface, that these days help the spinners more than the pacers.
Under such circumstances, England get down to the tough job of preventing India from going further ahead in the series. No doubt, the proposition is immensely difficult, but then among all the visiting sides in the last couple of years, England have shown that they are the best when it comes to tackling the Indian spinners. They have dominated the hosts at times and have it in them to really spring a surprise.
On their part, India followed at Vizag the much-tested and successful pattern of winning the toss, batting first to put up a good first innings total and then allowing the spinners to work on the psyche and technique of rival batsmen. It has helped India reap rich dividends in the last 18 months or so. The question is what happens when the opposition wins the toss and India are forced to bat on a pitch with a lot of wear and tear.
India’s much-vaunted batting line-up has looked brittle with Ajinkya Rahane failing to continue with the form he displayed against the Kiwis. It is putting an immense pressure on both Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. This is a chink that England may well expose when they have the opportunity. For India to continue playing with the five batsman theory, Rahane will have to deliver and that too as quickly as possible.
As far as changes are concerned, India will be forced to replace Wriddhiman Saha (injured) with Parthiv Patel. The Gujarat player last played the longest version of the game way back in 2008, but Indian head coach Anil Kumble has picked him as he feels that Parthiv, after Saha, is the best person behind the stumps with gloves. The remaining 10 who played at Vizag are expected to retain their places.
For England, the enigmatic Jos Buttler will be back in action in place of Ben Duckett, Chris Woakes will replace the injured Stuart Broad and Gareth Batty is expected to replace left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari.
It is expected Buttler will give the England middle-order a huge boost, but one can be sure that there will never be a dull moment at the crease as long as he is in the middle. But above all, if England are to make a match out of it, both Alastair Cook and Joe Root will have to score heavily. That is the bottomline and there can’t be any exception to this rule.
Curator Daljit Singh is of the opinion that the pitch will aid spinners from the third afternoon onwards. Overall, however, it looks barren and dry with not even an iota of green on the top.
Ultimately, however, it all boils down to the toss. If India win it, from the outset, England will be under pressure. If the reverse happens, that England’s changes may come in handy and the real fun will start.
Ultimately it is the coin which holds the key to success.
Agencies
