The nature of the pitch was questioned by some former cricketers, but some others said that the batting collapses in the match was down to faulty footwork rather than the pitch.
The second day of the 3rd India vs England Test in Ahmedabad saw spin accounting for 17 wickets to fall as the pacers were relegated to outfield fielders as India won the match by 10 wickets to take a 2-1 series lead. Of the 30 wickets that fell in the match, 28 went to spinners.
The nature of the pitch was questioned by some former cricketers like Mark Waugh, who said Joe Root’s figures of 5/8 is proof, but some others, like Sunil Gavaskar and Graeme Swann said that the batting collapses in the match was down to faulty footwork rather than the pitch.
Sunil Gavaskar said at the Dinner break: “Batsmen not getting to the pitch of the ball enough (has been to blame for the low scores). Even if you miss the ball, you are so far forward by the time the ball hits your pad, the umpire will think ten times before giving you out.”
Graeme Swann, agreeing with Gavaskar said, “The art of playing spin is not at the top at the moment. Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey used to be lightning fast on their feet when playing spin. When you are forward when playing spin, you can just smother the turn, even if you can’t play a shot.”
Speaking during the final session, however, Swann said the nature of the pitch on Day 2 was more suited to the fourth day of a Test but that England should not complain about the pitch but instead take steps to counter the spin threat.
Michael Vaughan, however, tweeted that the pitch was “awful for Test cricket”.
Mark Waugh chipped in:
Sanjay Manjrekar also suggested that the pitch was more to blame than the technique of the batsmen on display.
India won the 3rd Test within twenty minutes of the third session on Day 2, making the match the seventh two-day Test since 2000.
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