India looking to spin narrative

With Pune's bald black soil surface likely to aid spinners, hosts will be looking to adapt quickly and draw level in the series vs NZ

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Pune

WHEN India’s home red-ball season began in Chennai last month, there was this theory that pitches for this season would have some juice for the pacers. It would serve the dual purpose of increased game time for the seamers while getting Indian batters accustomed to the conditions in Australia. While none of the players confirmed this theory, that first morning in Chennai created a sort of recency bias. The Bangladesh pacers had the Indian batters rattled at 3/34 on the first morning.

It’s safe to say that sort of spice will be missing from Pune’s bald black soil strip. The team batting first can still lose three wickets in the first hour on the opening morning but it may be due to spin rather than pace. As always, after an India loss at home, all the attention has turned to the one piece of land — the 22 yards — immediately before a Test. The ground staff added to the intrigue as they watered the fulllength areas on both sides of the deck while keeping the majority of it under Hessian to protect it from the blazing afternoon sun. They also exclusively used the heavy roller on the watered areas of the surface while the Hessian remained firmly in place.