While speaking at the press conference after the IND vs ENG second Test match, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid was asked what his mindset would be if he saw more Vizag-type pitches in the remaining three games. Dravid claimed that he has no idea about this matter and that he never asked the curators to prepare the surface as per the wish of the team management back home.
It was a brilliant comeback for India in the five-match Test series against England. The hosts were able to win the second Test by 106 runs after dismantling England for 292 runs in their second innings on Day 4 in Vizag. The pitch was an all-in-one surface as it had help for batsmen, pacers and spinners. Also, while there were chances of the BCCI preparing more spinners as usual, the current pitching behavior of both the games might have surprised the visitors.
Indian head coach Rahul Dravid, while speaking in the post-match press conference, revealed that the team management never asked the fielders to prepare the players at home. It’s the curators who do the releases and the tracks in India will spin, but it’s hard to judge that. Dravid claimed that he is not an expert in the field.
Rahul Dravid on his preference for fields in India
Rahul Dravid said, “The curators make the proposals. We do not ask for rank changes. Obviously, the tracks in India would spin, how much they would spin, how much less they would spin, how much. I’m not an expert, obviously the wickets in India over the course of four or five days turn, but how much are they going to turn?
Rahul Dravid further claimed that he was told that the pitch will change on the second day, while there have been times when he has been told that the pitch will change from the first day.
Rahul Dravid said, “Sometimes they tell me that they will switch on on the third day, but they switch on on the first day. Sometimes they tell me they will turn on the second day and don’t until the fourth day. So sometimes I’m just as clueless as anyone else. We look at the wicket and try to do the best we can with what we get. “We are going to Rajkot, we will see what we can get and we will play with what comes our way.”
Coming back to the match, the Indian cricket team showed a brilliant performance on day 4 of the second test match. Jasprit Bumrah was once again the star of the show with the ball and picked up 9 wickets in the match. Bumrah picked up all six wickets in the first innings followed by 3 in the second.
Indian batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill also shined for India due to their innings of 209 and 104 respectively. However, although the Indian team won the second Test match, things are not perfect there. The middle and lower order are areas where the Indian team is weak. A major factor contributing to the batsmen’s inability to reach their full scoring potential is the absence of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.
Shreyas Iyer’s form is also an issue for the team; If he is left out of the team for the third Test, Sarfaraz Khan can fill in for him if KL Rahul or Virat Kohli are unable to play the remaining three Test matches.