Pitches in India have always been spin friendly and fast bowlers in Ranji Trophy have usually failed to make an impact and. Over the past few years, pitches in Chepauk have not been favourable for the fast bowlers. However, the season opener played there between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had something else in the store. Fast bowlers took 16 off the 33 wickets which fell in the match.
Former Indian fast bowler Laxmipathy Balaji who is currently the coach of Tamil Nadu said he was pleased to see the bounce in the pitch and such pitches would motivate pacers in the future. The match however ended in a draw, Andhra Pradesh took the points by first innings lead. Tamil Nadu conceded a lead of 133 runs in the first innings.
Balaji said, “It is not about the green patch or the moisture; it’s about the consistent bounce which a pacer needs. The edge should sit in the slips’ hands, and a pacer feels happy when there is bounce. Pacers from both teams played bigger roles.”
BCCI has brought in the concept of neutral curator in Ranji Trophy to prevent doctored pitches for home teams and Balaji was in full support of the concept,
“BCCI is trying the neutral curator option to ensure that there are no doctored pitches. We cannot kill fast bowlers just because of the nature of the wickets. I don’t mind playing where there is something in it for the pacers. I’m pretty much for a wicket which has carry. It shouldn’t be completely slow. This is one of the decent wickets I have seen.”
He also said that pitches like these are a huge psychological boost for Tamil pacers, “In India, if you end up bowling 20 overs in a day and pick 2-3 wickets, it’s a huge thing. I believe as a pacer in India, you can get three wickets in a day if you are able to bowl 20 out of 90 overs. If you do that, then you should be satisfied as a pacer.”