That Bangladesh would make Australia struggle to overtake 156 runs should send alarm bells ringing in the Indian camp. India’s vulnerability against quality spin has been exposed in recent times and as their performance in the last two matches suggest, they would be better off seeking – if at all they have the option – batsman-friendly pitches rather than spinning tracks.
The immediate concern of the team, however, is how to tackle Bangladesh on a slow, turning track. The two countries meet at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday and victory here is critical to India’s progress in the ICC World T20. Besides victory, India need a healthy run rate too. The loss in the first match to New Zealand and a run rate on the slower side against Pakistan have placed the hosts at a disadvantage in the bigger context of the T20 World Cup.
And yes, there’s nothing called ‘home advantage’ any more to bank on. Pitches are behaving differently in different parts of the country and same pitches have become more unpredictable, change as they do responding to conditions. The players of rival teams are more familiar with Indian conditions now, thanks to the globalisation of the game courtesy Indian Premier League. Support of the home crowd hardly makes any difference to how the game plays out in the middle.
It was leg-spinner Adam Zampa of Australia who impressed with figures of 4-0-23-3 in the first innings as Bangladesh batsmen struggled to negotiate the slow-off-the-wicket deliveries. In the second, Shakib Al Hasan and his spin gang tested the Australian batters. But for some loose bowling in the end and poor fielding, particularly from greenhorn S Sajib, the result could have been different.
On the other pitch at Chinnaswamy, West Indian tweakers had delivered telling blows to Sri Lanka a couple of days ago. With a pattern to the behaviour of the two pitches more or less visible, the Indian side has to strategise carefully.
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