India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Tuesday said there is no need to take criticism of the spin-friendly pitches in the country “seriously” as not a word is spoken about the “damp” tracks elsewhere and England can expect another turner in the fourth Test.
There has been a lot of talk about the spinning tracks in the second Test at Chepauk and the pink ball game at Motera which ended inside two days. The fourth and final Test starts on March 4.
“I think the wicket will be similar to the second Test match in Chennai, spinning track. Yes, pink ball made the difference and it came much quicker off the wicket compared to red ball and we had to make adjustments,” Rahane said during a virtual media conference.
“Wicket will be a lot similar to last two Test matches,” he added.
Rahane, for the first time in many years, shed his reticence when asked to respond to the criticism from former England players that the pitches have not been ideal. Some have even urged the ICC to act against India for preparing a turner.
“See, let people speak what they want to. The wickets, when we tour abroad, no one speaks about how seaming they are. They always speak about the technique of the Indian batsmen, I don’t feel we need to take seriously what people say,” Rahane was sharp in his response.
“...You see, when we tour abroad, the first day wicket is damp. When wicket becomes grassy and behaves up and down, then the pitch becomes dangerous but we haven’t complained about it or we have never spoken about it.”
‘very similar pitch’
Young England opener Zak Crawley too echoed Ajinkya Rahane’s sentiments on the Motera strip which he believes will be “similar” in nature but red ball will make it “slightly easier” for the batsmen.
“Yeah, I think it will be a very similar pitch this week. It wasn’t easy to score for sure, but it was the same for both sides, and they played very well compared to us. So, we had our chance to bat first and did well and unfortunately, we didn’t play well as we needed to,” Crawley said at a virtual conference.
Quizzed whether batting will be easier in the final Test as it will be a red ball game again, he answered in affirmative.
“It depends on the pitch obviously, but I do think that it will be slightly easier. I felt that the pink ball was a bit harder (to play) and that ball skidded on quite quickly, which is why Axar got so many wickets through leg before and bowled.”
Axar’s arm ball will be a massive threat, conceded Crawley.
“I think he still has that ball in his armoury for sure and he’ll still be a massive threat with that one (red ball). But I think it might not skid on with the same pace as the pink ball but it won’t be completely different,” explained Crawley.
Crawley was the only half centurion for England in the last game.
“Yeah, it’s nice to score some runs. I probably had the best (chance) to face seamers early, but still nice to score some runs, nonetheless,” he said, adding that hopefully he will have the game-plan in the final match.
The 23-year-old, lavished praise on left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who has grabbed 18 wickets from two Tests.
“You know, he (Axar) is a very good bowler, especially in these conditions, he has been very accurate, he doesn’t give you much to score, and he has got one that goes straight on, in these conditions, one (to) turn, so he is very good bowler,” said Crawley.