Cummins given go-ahead for decider

Now that Australia’s fastest bowler Pat Cummins has been given the green light to go flat out in the final Test starting Saturday, Australia are expecting the Dharamsala pitch to be rendered as batter-friendly as was last week’s deck in Ranchi.

Cummins had scans taken of his battle-scarred spine the day after the drawn third Test, not because of any soreness or concerns of fresh damage but as part of the necessarily cautious treatment of the injury plagued quick.

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The clean bill of health that Cummins received from the scans, taken in Delhi during the team’s stopover en route to the Himalayan foothills city last Tuesday, means fatigue looms as his only concern heading into the decisive fourth Test.

Having not played a first-class match in more than six years after suffering a series of stress fractures to back and legs, Cummins was called on to bowl 39 overs as India batted out 210 overs across three days on a flat, slow Ranchi pitch.

And despite suggestions from the curator at Dharamsala’s spectacular Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium that his pitch would offer pace and bounce, Australia opening bowler Josh Hazelwood has taken a more cynical view.

Hazlewood claimed today that India would not want to risk producing a surface any more lively than the Ranchi track that yielded more than 1,250 runs but just 16 wickets because of the fear factor that Cummins brings with his pace and aggression.

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“I’d love to see it fast and bouncy,” Hazlewood said prior to the Australians conducting their main pre-Test training session at the ground that is hosting its first Test match.

“But that’s what they said in Pune as well and we didn’t quite get that.

“I think the way they saw Patty Cummins bowl the other day, they don’t really want it any faster than Ranchi.

“I think everyone was taken back by the way he bowled, and to get that lift and pace off the wicket like that.

“He’s a pretty special player and to bring that extra pace is what you need sometimes on these wickets to get those breakthroughs.

“Hopefully he can stay on the park and keep playing.”

The first examination of the Dharamsala pitch two days before the Test begins showed it to have a light covering of green grass on an otherwise flat, ‘rolled mud’ surface that is sporting its share of small surface cracks.

And while the temperature in the shadow of the world’s most famous mountain range is well below that of the plains cities of Pune and Ranchi, the thinner air at 1,500m altitude also means the sun carries a sting.

So it is expected the surface will dry significantly before the coin is tossed on Saturday morning, and it will surprise nobody if all traces of greenery are also erased by that time.

Whatever its final nature, Hazlewood believes the pitch – unlike the deck at Ranchi, which was also hosting its historic first Test – will deliver a result one way or another.

Largely because India must win this final match to take hold of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that Australia currently holds, and which remains in the balance with one Test to play.

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“I think the wicket will determine a result,” said Hazlewood who, along with Cummins, is undertaking a minimal workload in the lead-up to the fourth Test.

“They (India) need to win so the wicket they serve up will bring a result into the game.

“The pressure is firmly on them.

“We can draw it (to retain the Trophy) but we obviously want to win it, win 2-1 and win a series in India which rarely happens.”

The fact that the Australians, who were dismissed as no chance to win a Test let alone the series, have a genuine chance to seal a successful campaign for only the second time in almost 50 years has the squad buoyant.

As does the relocation to the hills above Dharamsala, that offers soaring views to the snow-dusted lower peaks of the Himalayan range and a tranquillity that is impossible to find in other major Indian cities.

But Hazlewood believes the calm that comes with the stunning natural setting won’t be replicated when the battle resumes on Saturday, especially given the fractious relationship between the two teams over the course of the first three Tests.

With the Australians quietly confident and their opponents feeling the pinch, according to the laconic quick.

“It’s pretty exciting,” the newly installed head of Australia’s fast bowlers’ union said today when asked to assess the group’s mindset.

“We had that win in (the first Test at) Pune, which feels quite a while ago now, but we’ve competed for every day of Test cricket so far.

“We’re pretty excited that if we can put a couple of good days together here in Dharamsala - against a great opposition - that we can come away with a win which is something you’d never forget.

“Before we came over, they (India) were expected to win four-nil.

“The pressure is still firmly on them being one-all going into this decider.”

Test Squads

India (for fourth Test): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Mohammed Shami.

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

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune – Australia won by 333 runs.

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru – India won by 75 runs.

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi – match drawn.

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala