Intrigue over lush Bengaluru surface

Three days out from the second Test in Bengaluru, just what kind of surface Australia and India will play on remains a mystery.

The first Test in Pune, on which Australia flattened India inside nine sessions to win by 333 runs, featured a pitch that spun prodigiously from ball one and was yesterday rated as ‘poor’ by ICC Match Referee Chris Broad.

Quick Single: ICC deliver verdict on first Test pitch

Touring spinner Stephen O’Keefe claimed 12-70 for the match as Australia’s slow bowlers captured 17 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall in a match where the tweakers bowled 76 per cent of the overs.

Australia captain Steve Smith said the abrasive Pune pitch had played into the hands of the visitors and evened up the contest and now the exact opposite looks set for the second Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Arriving at the venue on Wednesday, the Australians found a lush outfield, vibrant green grass from end to end interrupted only by a pitch that was covered with four long strips of hessian fabric. 

There was, however, a brief glimpse of the wicket when three men peeled back the hessian to inspect the wicket, with one of them inserting a gauge the test the surface’s moisture levels.

Led by captain Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann, the tourists later had the covers completely removed and spent approximately 10 minutes poking, prodding and discussing the wicket.

Image Id: AA1FBB5FA8C8414AB6862C1EBA3B99FD Image Caption: Australia's brains trust examining the Bengalaru surface // cricket.com.au

Fifteen pitches make up the wicket square at the Maharashtra Cricket Association in Pune, with the outer pitches used for training purposes.

An abrasive square is considered a catalyst for reverse swing bowling, but in Bengaluru that looks unlikely at this stage with surrounding pitches watered and seeming as coarse as marshmallow.

India opening batsman Murali Vijay says the Bengaluru wicket “looks good” and despite the criticism of the Pune pitch, insisted he enjoyed batting on the first Test track.

“Personally, I don’t go into a match seeing the wicket,” Vijay said. 

“I just go into the match with an open mindset. If the wicket does something extra I just try to adapt and that’s where the technique comes into play. 

“I would not say Pune wicket was a poor wicket. 

“It was a much more challenging wicket for us from ball one. 

“As cricketers we need that (challenge) at times to play on such wickets to test your ability rather than every time playing on flat track or a seaming wicket. 

“It actually is a good thing for me, personally, to play on a wicket like that at times to test your character and technique.”

Quick Single: Renshaw thriving on raw approach: Warner

Vijay’s top-order rival David Warner played a straight bat when asked about the Pune pitch. 

“That’s obviously up to the ICC and the match referees to deal with that,” Warner said on Wednesday. 

“There’s been wickets around the world that have been not too (dissimilar) to what was produced, but we were talking about it before, you’ve got green tops, you’ve got spinning wickets, you’ve got ones that sort of explode and take chunks out from day one. 

“But at the end of the day we’ve just got to go out there and adapt to the conditions and that gets dealt with afterwards.”

Test Squads

India (for first two Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala