Former pacer Michael Kasprowicz doesn’t understand why so much emphasis is being placed on the pitches in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, because they are “typical” Indian wickets that Australia must “adapt and adjust” to.
While the pitch in Nagpur and Delhi was uncontroversial, the deck in Indore was scrutinised after spinning sharply from the first session. As Australia won in two and a half days, spinners claimed 26 of the 31 wickets.
”I don’t believe the hype I reckon because for all the attention around the pitches they were typically Indian wickets,” Kasprowicz, one of the architects of Australia’s first Test win in India in 29 years, told The Age.
”I realise this last one in Indore did a few tricks early on, but because they’re starting so early (9.30 am), maybe that little bit of moisture helps grab the ball. But at other stages later in the day, it wasn’t doing anything like that.”
India had won the first two Tests in Nagpur and New Delhi where the pitches got an ”average” rating by the ICC. The pitch in Indore was rated ”poor” as Australia won the game by nine wickets.
‘When I say don’t believe the hype, I know the odd ball was turning square, and it got a poor rating,” said Kasprowicz, who was part of the Australia team which won their only series in India back in 2004.
”But I remember turning up to the Bangalore Test in 1998, and I’ve got a picture of me standing on the wicket. It honestly looks like a dry creek bed. There’s no grass, but it’s got these cracks and spider cracks all down the whole face of it.
”And you just go well, like that’s what we’re gonna play on. And guess what? We’ve got to adapt and adjust. That’s the game of Test cricket.” After losing the opening Test in Nagpur, Australia dominated the first two days in the Delhi Test before collapsing to 113 all out in their second innings on day 3 to lose the match by six wickets and go 0-2 down in the four-Test series.
