BGT 2023 | Not great idea to have Indore-like pitches, remarks Sunil Gavaskar
Australia won Indore Test by nine wickets
|(BCCI)
Sunil Gavaskar has opined that producing pitches like the one used in Inore might backfire for the Indian team after the defeat in the third Test. He also added that there should always be a good balance between both the bat and the ball for a good contest to happen in the Test cricket.
In a series dominated by India, Australia pulled one back in Indore with a nine-wicket win, The massive spin for help worked in the favour of Australia as Nathan Lyon was brilliant with the ball. He scalped 11 wickets throughout the game and troubled the Indian batters. Also, there was a lot of criticism around the nature of the pitch and ICC also rated the surface to be poor.Â
Sunil Gavaskar has also shared his view saying it is not a great idea to play on these kinds of surfaces.Â
"I think there has to be a little more thought on that. This pitch has backfired in 2012-13 when Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar spun England to a win. I donât think itâs a great idea to have pitches of this quality," Gavaskar told India Today.
"You want to have pitches where there is a good balance between bat and ball. You want to have a pitch where for the first couple of days, the new-ball bowlers can get some help and the batters can play through the line and score runs. And then from Day 3 and 4, the ball is going to turn a little bit. I donât know whatâs going to happen in Ahmedabad. If the pitch in Ahmedabad is a raging turner, then India might go on to win but once again the pitch might get demerit points," he added.
The series has witnessed teams posting low totals as the spinners have been their nightmare. Also, there has been discussion amongst the fans and experts that the ability of Indian batters to handle spin has dwindled. However, Gavaskar thinks otherwise and he expressed it by giving reference of Rohit Sharmaâs century in Nagpur and Cheteshwar Pujaraâs fifty in Indore.Â
"I donât think the ability has gone down. Yes, today with the advent of white-ball game, to be able to play the lofted shot with certainty, even on a pitch like this, they do play the lofted shot,â he explained.Â
"So when you see Rohit Sharma get a 120 on a pitch where the ball is turning square, you know the current guys can also play. When you see a Cheteshwar Pujara get a half-century the other day on the pitch, you know these cricketers can also play. Yes, you might argue that Pujara doesnât play white-ball cricket.â
