IND vs ENG | Even if it's the same pitch, would be easier to bat without the pink ball, opines Zak CrawleyÂ
English opener Zak Crawley has suggested that even if the same pitch as the last Test is dished out in the Test series finale, it will be easier to bat as there will be no pink-ball. He also added that Axar Patel is extremely accurate and hardly gives batsmen opportunities to score runs.
Zak Crawley after being ruled out of the first two Tests, finally returned for the third Test, albeit in some testing conditions, and scored a brilliant fifty, exhibiting his full range and class. He was one of the only two batsmen to have scored a half-century in a low-scoring game, that finished well inside the first two days.Â
There have been a lot of questions about whether it is feasible to play with the pink-ball in India after many considered that it was a vital factor behind the third Test being a low-scoring affair. The young English opener has reckoned that even if the same pitch is dished out like the last Test, batting will be easier as the pink-ball will no longer be in action, which skidded faster than the red-ball does.Â
"It depends on the pitch obviously, but I think if it's the same pitch, I do think that it'll be slightly easy. I felt that the pink ball was a bit harder (to play) and that ball skidded on quite quickly, which is why Axar (Patel) got so many wickets lbw and bowled. 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," Crawley said, reported TOI.Â
He also admitted that India have played really well on these turning pitches but also stated that the visitors had their moment in the sun to exert dominance after they got to bat first in the day-night Test, which they didn't quite cash in.Â
"I think it will be a very similar pitch this week, why wouldn't it be? They played very well on these last two pitches that have turned. It wasn't easy to score for sure, but it was the same for both sides, and they played very well compared to us. We had our chance to bat first and did well and unfortunately we didn't play well as we needed to," he said.Â
Axar Patel, who has made his Test debut in this series, and has been playing in place of Ravindra Jadeja, has been on fire and has taken as many as 18 wickets. Crawley termed him an 'extremely accurate' bowler who doesn't give an inch in these conditions.Â
"Axar is a very good bowler, especially in these conditions. He has been extremely accurate. He doesn't give you much to score. And he has got one that goes straight on in these conditions, and one that turns. He is a very good bowler, but we played against (Lasith) Embuldeniya in the (Lanka) series and managed to score some good runs and win some Test matches, so there's no reason why we can't do that against Axar," said Crawley.