Barking up the wrong pitch?

Skipper Rohit Sharma says these are the kind of pitches India wants to play on.

When Rohit Sharma entered the cold confines of the media conference hall for his post-match presser, after suffering just his second defeat as a player in 23 Tests at home, he must have anticipated the crux of the pitch-centred questions coming his way. He still took a long pause once the first question was fired: “This pitch seemed to be even more challenging than usual. Don’t you think such a wicket puts a lot of pressure on our batters too?”

Indore, Mar 03 (ANI): India's Captain Rohit Sharma during the 3rd Test match against Australia, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, in Indore on Friday. Australia beat India by nine wickets on day three of third Test. (ANI Photo)(ANI)

Post the considered wait, Sharma said: “When a series starts, we decide what kind of pitches we’ve to play on. This was everyone’s call to play on such pitches. I don’t think we are putting pressure on our own batters. When we lose, these things come out. We’ve decided we want to play on such pitches. We know that we can face challenges too, but we’re ready for that.”

There were more questions in his direction on the surface and the fleeting duration of these Tests. For the record, the last five matches in India have ended within three days. “What can I say, boss? People have to play well for the game to last five days,” responded Sharma, a hint of frustration in his voice with this line of questioning.

“Games are not lasting for five days even outside India. Yesterday, in South Africa, the game got ever in three days. It’s about skills. If the pitches are helping the bowlers, the batters need to try and test their skills. It's not always about making sure we’re playing on flat wickets, the results don’t come. In Pakistan, there were three Tests played, people were saying it’s become so boring. We’re making it interesting for everyone.”

They are no doubt making these games engrossing, but he may perhaps have a rethink if the result in Ahmedabad also goes awry. Sharma knows that these pitches, though requiring immense skill from a batting perspective, can also make the outcome a bit of a lottery. In Pune in 2017, Australia won on a raging turner. In the next three Tests, more placid pitches were duly produced, two of which were won by the hosts. Sharma is ready to take that gamble of playing on spin-conducive surfaces, particularly with qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final on the line.

The turning point, perhaps, was the defeat to England at Chepauk in 2021, when they lost the toss and bore the brunt of Joe Root’s double hundred on a flat deck. It was in the inaugural WTC cycle, and India changed tack to skittle England cheaply on spinning tracks in the next three Tests and set up a clash with New Zealand for the ICC title.

“We’ll go to Ahmedabad and see what we can do there. But yeah, we’ll have a chat about what went wrong in this game, what we can do well in Ahmedabad and not worry about the pitch. Honestly, this pitch talk is just getting too much. Every time we play in India, there’s only focus on the pitch,” Sharma said.

But by saying that they will continue to play on surfaces tailored to their advantage, isn't he also drawing importance to the subject? Before the Indore Test, he even said that India might consider a green top in Ahmedabad, as preparation for the WTC final, if they won here.

Some of the criticism on this pitch was inevitable as the top score from either team was 60 over the four innings. A few commentators for the official broadcaster, including Ravi Shastri and Matthew Hayden, didn’t shy away from voicing their disapproval of the surface.

Asked about it, he said: “I don’t think former cricketers played on pitches like this. I don’t know, man, honestly speaking, this is the kind of pitches we want to play, this is our strength, so when you’re playing at your home, you always play to your strength, not worry about what people outside are talking about. That strength is spin bowling and that batting depth.

“And everyone uses that advantage outside, so what’s wrong with that? We’ve got to do that as well, especially when we’re getting results. If we were not getting the results, I would think otherwise, but I think we are playing well, we are getting the results that we want. Some batters are under pressure, but that’s okay. You cannot have all members of your team in good form,” he added.

Australia skipper Steve Smith may not mind the Indian team's predilection for such pitches. Having already booked their place in the WTC final, the Australians know that all the pressure is on the home team for the next Test.

“I prefer to play on these wickets than a genuine flat one that goes five days… it can be boring in stages. There’s always something happening on these pitches. You got to really work hard for your runs, but guys have shown they can do it. With this pitch, whether it might have been a little bit too extreme potentially from the first ball, I’m not entirely sure but it was still an enjoyable Test,” Smith said.

Expect the intrigue about the surface at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to begin in a couple of days. That is par for the course given what has transpired so far.