Hayden surprised by India's pitch tactics

Former Test opener Matthew Hayden believes "substandard pitches" are doing India no favours in the current four-Test series.

Hayden was a master of conditions in India during his stellar career, sweeping his way to 549 runs in 2001, topping the batting charts for the three Test series with an average of 109.8.

The Queenslander, who is working in India as a commentator, can't understand why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has produced such spin-friendly decks for games in Pune and Bangalore, which ended in three and four days respectively.

"The Test matches were on substandard pitches," Hayden told The Times of India.

"It's strange because India are good enough to play on good surfaces which naturally break up and start to turn.

"The fact that (Nathan) Lyon took eight in the first innings of a Test match says it all."

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Lyon claimed a career-best haul of 8-50 during India's first innings in Bangalore, extracting uneven bounce and sharp turn from the strip on day one.

"Interesting pitch ... 16 wickets fell inside four-and-a-half hours," coach Darren Lehmann said after a dramatic final day of the second Test, which India won by 75 runs to level the series.

"You're going to get what you get here. That's the way it is so you deal with it."

Steve O'Keefe spun Australia to victory in the first Test in Pune on a surface rated "poor" by the match referee. The BCCI has challenged that report.

It's expected Ranchi, where the series continues on Thursday, could well be another treacherous minefield for Australia's batsmen.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the top two bowlers on the ICC's Test rankings, will be making sure it is particularly hard to negotiate.

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"I have played some great Indian spinners and this attack is as good as any that I have played. These guys are world class," Hayden said.

"The sweep shot is vital to have on Indian conditions, but having said that, I conditioned myself to play the shot through 10 years of first-class cricket.

"So it does take time and if you are not comfortable then it is a shot which should not be forced."

Test Squads

India (for third and fourth Tests): 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.

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

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala