New Delhi: Team India have reportedly decided to take a huge gamble and have asked for a ‘rank turner’ to be prepared for the 3rd Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The decision might come back to haunt the hosts, who lost the 2nd Test by 113 runs on a spin-friendly wicket at the MCA Stadium in Pune last week.
As per a report in the Indian Express, the Indian team management has asked for a ‘rank turner’ to be prepared for the third and final Test match and wants to go with a tried and tested method to bounce back. “It will be rank turner pitch. The team management has requested to prepare a pitch which can help spinners from day 1. It seems the team wants to go on a tried and tested formula,” a source was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
If true, the move from the Indian team management is certain to raise a few eyebrows after the way Indian batters failed to tackle the Kiwi spinners in the Pune Test. Mitchell Santner ran riot in both innings as the left-arm spinner picked up as many as 13 wickets in the two innings combined to spin the Kiwis to a historic Test series victory.
New Zealand not only ended India’s dominant streak of 18 successive Test series victories at home with their 113-run win in the 2nd Test but also won their first-ever Test series on Indian soil. The Tom Latham-led side has handed India its first Test series defeat at home since 2012 and will be eyeing a clean sweep in the 3rd Test.
Can Indian batters tackle spin in Mumbai?
While there was a significant turn on the track and help on offer for the spinners in Pune, the pitch was not a rank turner. Indian batters still struggled massively with the hosts losing 19 of the 20 wickets that fell in the two innings combined to spinners. In Mumbai, the red soil composition of the pitch will also bring bounce in play.
With sufficient bounce and spin on offer, it will be a nightmare for the batters from both teams. Indian batters will have their task cut out against the likes of Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips. Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, none of the Indian batters have looked assured against spinners in the longest format and the batting unit will have to bounce back collectively to ensure India’s gamble pays off in Mumbai.
