Lost in the din of Dravid's wrong toss and the Tendulkar Boo-Boo is a story no one has paid any attention towards - the Wankhede pitch. The previous test match at Wankhede lasted barely two days, and a pitch which would have made minefields look like beach resorts was held responsible.
This time though, the pitch has made absolutely no news....and that in itself is good news. The Wankhede ground staff has gone a fair distance towards redeeming itself after the 2004 nightmare.
The pitch had a grassy look to it on the first morning, tricking Dravid into electing to field. Though the Indians picked only 3 wickets, it must be said that the pitch had bounce, and the bounce persists even now on day 4. The English seamers were able to get bounce and movement off the seam and reduced India to a mess. But once a batsman played himself in, he was able to play quite comfortably and only a rash shot or bad luck would dismiss him as Dhoni, Pathan, Yuvraj and Dravid would testify.
Day three onwards the pitch has deteriorated a bit and the roughs have formed, but the surprising bounce persists, and the pitch is well suited for a bat-vs-ball contest. As I write this post, England are all out towards the end of Day 4 and India will be chasing 313 at a runrate of around 3.
This sets up a thrilling last day, since the pitch even on day 5 has a bit for both sides, which is a rarity. Usually in India pitches either break up and turn into the proverbial dustbowls like in Bangalore, or ease out even further and become belters like Nagpur. A pitch like Chepauk which stays alive right untul the last session is a rarity.
And a Wankhede pitch which sees the match evenly poised even as it enters the fifth day is a pleasant surprise.
Comments
I thought the Pitch was perfect for Test Cricket. England had to crawl along at 2 runs per over in the face of 5 Indian Bowlers.Good Bowling, good Batting, tough conditions, catches going down..but a reminder of how tough Test Cricket is;
and why the ODI's(100 overs)
brook no comparison..
I enjoyed this because it reminded me of how difficult it is to play Test cricket. (and why ODI's have destroyed Batsmen's Tecnique) India, don't waste Munaf Patel and Sree Santh, they were superb.
Posted by: Feroz Faisal Dawson at March 22, 2006 11:32 AM
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