Trailing 2-0 in the series, England could not have asked for a better place then the Wankhede to revive their fortunes in the series. The visitors have registered some memorable victories on that ground including their 10-wicket victory against the hosts in 2012 on a rank turner. And the latest verdict of the Wankhede pitch from its curator will undoubtedly act as a huge boost for Alastair Cook’s men, who have been thoroughly outplayed by India in the last two Tests.

According to the curator, the visitors are set to play on a pitch that will start turning from the second day evening or third day.

Speaking to TOI, curator Ramesh Mamunkar said:“It should turn from second day evening, or at least by the third day . There’s heavy dew these days, so we’re watering the pitch less. We’ve cut the grass a bit too, so that the wicket bears a fresh look for the Test.”

Reports were doing the rounds that the Indian team management has asked for rank turner. Hindustan Times, on December 2, had reported that the team instructed the curators to prepare a ‘bald’ pitch for the fourth Test starting on December 8. However, Mamunkar quashed all those suggestions by saying he had not received any instructions from the hosts about preparing a spin-friendly pitch.

The Wankhede pitch has gained a reputation of witnessing some big scoring games. Last year, it came under scanner when South Africa scored 438 for four and went on to win the ODI series. But Mamunkar said the curators prepare different pitches for different formats. He insisted the pitch will have something for everyone.

“We make batsman-friendly pitches for ODI and T20 games, but it’ll obviously be different for a Test. It’ll be a sporting, fair pitch, with good `carry .’ The ball will move here on the first day , as it always does here. The second day will be good for batting before the spinners come into the picture,” he concluded.