IndvsNZ Test: Pune All Set To Prepare A Rank Turner As India Eye A Comeback

New Zealand managed to pull off a miraculous win in Bengaluru by beating India for the first time in a home Test series in nearly 36 years. Rohit Sharma’s decision to bowl first in helpful seam-bowling conditions tremendously backfired as India folded for a record low of 46-10. Moreover, with only two frontline seamers in their shed, the home side were simply not in a position to challenge the visitors. Instead, India went with three spinners but all of them were rendered ineffective as the Chinnaswammy pitch offered virtually little to no assistance to the spinners.

After a brutal hammering at the hands of the Kiwis in the first Test, all attention now shifts to the second Test in Pune, a venue that is reportedly gearing up to prepare a turning track for the Indian spinners to thrive. Unlike the Bengaluru pitch which hardly had any life for the bowlers, the black soil pitch in Pune will have a tendency to grip viciously and stay a lot on the lower side. A slow and low track is in the making for the second Test and team India would look to take full advantage of it to get themselves back in roaring form in the series.

What can we expect from the MCA Stadium pitch in Pune?

As per reports from ESPNcricinfo, it has been learned that the Pune pitch will have no grass signs. The surface will be dry and bare devoid of any moisture. It will be hard work for the seamers as the lateral and off-the-pitch movement will be very minimal with the new ball. But if the ball is well-maintained, the dry conditions can facilitate the evolution of reverse swing. Considering the sluggishness and the low nature of the pitch, toss will once again play a key role in determining the fate of the teams and the outcome of the game.

Pune’s MCA Stadium turned out to be a spinners paradise when it hosted its inaugural Test match between India and Australia way back in 2017. Australia went on to register an emphatic 333-run victory to take an early 1-0 lead into the series as left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe starred with 12 wickets. The game was over on the third day by Tea and was given a poor rating by the ICC Match Referee Chris Broad as 31 out of 40 wickets fell to spin.

Jolted severely by the defeat in the first Test, Rohit and his men have their backs against the wall but favorable spin-friendly conditions in Pune are just what they need to tip the scales in their favor. Spin to win will be India’s go-to winning formula and will remain so throughout the entirety of the Test series. In addition to Pune, Mumbai’s Wankhede is also gearing up to serve a spin-bowling deck to further allow the Indian spinners to dominate the visitors. In a curious turn of events, the Indian selectors decided to add Washington Sundar as the 16th member of the squad, although the original squad had Axar Patel as a fourth spinner along with R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.