IND vs AUS 2017: Rank Turner On Offer For Series Opener At Pune
Feb 22, 2017 at 12:08 PM
Questions on playing surface at Pune was bound to come up as India are gearing up to take on Australia in the first of the four-match series beginning on February 23. And even before the series begin, the age-old pitch jibes over the Indian wicket, it seems, is all set to take the centre stage once again.
The Australian team has traditionally struggled on turning pitches and the hosts, it seems, are looking to cash in on their opposition’s weakness.
In the ongoing home season where India had thrashed New Zealand and England, almost all the pitches were ideal for both the teams. However, the hosts are looking to resort to their old ploy of preparing turning pitches to create all sorts of trouble for opponents.
The Pune pitch, which will host its first-ever Test, has been host to a couple of ODIs and as many T20Is and barring the T20 match between India and Sri Lanka in 2016, all other matches have witnessed high-scoring encounters.
Most notably, the last match that was played on this ground saw India and England score in excess of 350 runs during the ODI series earlier this year.
However, the pitch for the upcoming Test is looking completely different now. Peter Lalor of The Australian has posted a picture of the pitch on Twitter and looking at it, one can say that the spinners are going to make merry.
Pune pitch looks a bit interesting up close. pic.twitter.com/IFZ78QeFbI
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 22, 2017
Lalor also predicted that the match will be over inside three days.
Pune wicket nothing like usual wickets here. It is drier than the town on Election Day. Three day Test for sure.
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 22, 2017
Well, a couple of days ago, a local pitch curator Pandurang Salgaonkar had said the pitch will offer good bounce for the pacers, adding that it would assist the spinners only from the fourth day onwards. But the picture of the pitch is telling a different story altogether and now only time will end all the speculations.