Australia will have to blame their media. The first day of the much anticipated series between India and Australia, got underway at Nagpur. Prior to the start of the series, there were lot of chatter in the Australian media over the nature of the Nagpur pitch. No one knows how the pitch is going to behave but already allegations of cheating were hurled in the western media. The Nagpur pitch was under the scanner even before a ball is bowled. Social media was abuzz with charges of pitch doctoring to suit the needs of India followed by rebuttal of those charges. One New Zealand newspaper has even got a headline as India’s ploy. The headline has been framed in such a way that India is about to defeat Australia in war and not a game. South African and English newspapers have carried headlines to similar effect.
However, what transpired on the opening day, I think it will only be fair to blame the Australian media for the performance of their team.
Whenever a team visits the sub-continent, they will have to expect spinning pitches. Pakistan have been an exception. Ofcourse, they do not prepare bouncy tracks but over the last several years, in Pakistan or UAE, they prepare pitches that are extremely batsman friendly. However, the pitches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will turn though the degree of turn vary.
Certainly not a nightmare pitch
The Nagpur pitch is indeed a turning pitch. Nothing else must be expected in India. However, the point to be noted is that it didn’t offer any extravagant turn. The turn was enough to keep the spinners interested and the batsmen guessing. India’s number 9, Axar Patel is looking rather comfortable on day two as I write this. It shows that the pitch is not the evil that the Australian media termed it. Ofcourse, the bounce is non-existent but that must be expected anyway. It clearly shows that batting on this pitch is not a nightmare.
If you have a decent technique and if you are clear on the mind, it is possible to transcend the pitch. What about the runrate? Well, it is not bad either. There were passages of play when the runrate was a healthy 3.25 an over. Now, if the pitch is unplayable, such runrate even from the Australians would not have been possible.
What is a pitch that is unplayable? Australia will only have to watch the video of the India vs England series a couple of years ago. Everyone struggled on those pitches. One game was finished in 2 days. This pitch is a far cry from them.
What of the number of overs bowled? While I am writing this, India have already batted for 112 overs. It is not possible if the pitch is over spin friendly. The current Indian batsmen are not known for playing spin well.
Smith & Marnus
Australia do not have to look somewhere else for inspiration. Just watch the footage of how Smith and Marnus batted on the surface. They hardly looked troubled. Even their dismissals, did not have anything to do with the pitch. They missed the line of the delivery and was bowled and stumped. Until that point, they looked pretty comfortable on the wicket. Australia’s trouble was that they lost far too many wickets in clusters. In the morning, the team management dropped a bombshell by dropping Travis Head. Here is a batsman who had scored more than 700 runs in the home season dropped from the team because he was thought to be not effective against spin.
Who replaced Head in the eleven? It was none other than Matt Renshaw. Here is a batsman who the last time around when he toured India, was found wanting throughout the series. He batted as an opener last time around and was unable to provide a decent start during the series. If you get your selection wrong, you are bound to pay for it. Renshaw got out of the very first delivery he faced. He misread the line of the delivery and planted his front foot before the bat.
Wrapping up Australia will have to blame their media
The Aussies will have to blame their media for a poor start to the tour. They may still turnaround the tour but atleast for now, they have gotten off to a poor tour. As soon as the pitch was revealed, the entire Aussie media contingent saw demon on the pitch and all sorts of accusations were laid left, right and centre. Some called it doctoring, some called it cheating and some others called it blatant abuse of home advantage.
All of these must have played in the minds of the Australian batsmen who suddenly, saw gremlins on the pitch. They were defeated in the mind rather than by any bowler. Perhaps, just perhaps, Australia must not read the reports of any of their fellow Aussie. They will have to keep their mind free and only that will help them and not be influenced by any writing.
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