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India vs Australia: Adelaide Oval curator reveals nature of pitch ahead of first Test
Damian Hough recently said in an interview that they will be leaving some grass on the pitch and that can be good news for the pacers as the turf will be helpful to the quicks from both the teams.
The first Test between India and Australia in just around the corner and if the curator of Adelaide Oval is to be believed, then the pitch will offer quite a bit of assistance to the fast bowlers.
Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough recently said in an interview that they will be leaving some grass on the pitch and that can be good news for the pacers as the turf will be helpful to the quicks from both the teams.
“We won’t do anything differently,” Hough told The Weekend Australian. “The preparation will be the same. The only difference is we get the covers off earlier and we start earlier. We do the same preparation for red-ball cricket and pink-ball cricket at Shield level. The best way to get an even contest is to leave some grass on there and get that balance between bat and ball. Right now, we really feel that this is where it’s at for the pitch.”
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Former India pacer Zaheer Khan feels the Indian team management will opt to leave out Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the first Test as Adelaide won’t support his signature style i.e. swing bowling.
Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar form the Indian pace battery and while the first four are known to hit the deck hard, Bhuvi relies mostly on swing to trouble the opposition.
“Bhuvneshwar will rely on swing and Australian conditions don’t really provide that. You will see good bounce and pace on the wicket,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
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“Unlike South Africa or England for that matter where you see some good sideways movement as well. Just for that reasoning, I would say that maybe for the first couple of Test matches, the Indian team will not be looking at Bhuvneshwar as first priority. The remaining four will be in contention for being a part of the playing XI.”
“The first Test match is starting in Adelaide. You expect Shami, who has been in great rhythm in England to perform. Bumrah can provide the x-factor and I hope that he plays all the four Test matches. That will be very handy. Umesh I think has been the strike bowler. You have these four bowlers and the team management would be thinking of picking three from these four,” he added.
