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The last time India played a pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide, they had a nightmare. The Virat Kohli-led side succumbed to an eight-wicket defeat after being bowled out for 36 in the second innings, which stands as their lowest innings total in Test history.
While the Australia pacers were on fire, India’s star offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a decent outing. The tweaker picked up three wickets in the first innings and bagged another in Australia’s second essay, returning a four-wicket match haul.
As Team India gears up once again to lock horns with Australia in a day-night Test, it will be an interesting call if the management tinkers with the bowling combination which put the Aussies on the mat in Perth. Notably, India played a lone specialist spinner in Washington Sundar in the series opener with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja consigned to the bench.
Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough believes that it’s essential to have a spinner for the pink-ball Test.
“Spin always plays a role in Adelaide. You need to pick a frontline spinner. So, there should never be a question of do we, don’t we? It should always be,” Hough said in a select media interaction organised by Cricket Australia.
“Nathan Lyon’s record in the last 10 years is second to none. He’s had really good success here. So, always pick a spinner. The idea of leaving that extra bit of grass and that Maddy grass is for the spinner to be able to get purchase out of that mat and get it to bite, grip and bounce.
“So, we want spin to play a role at Adelaide. We might not be able to get as much as other places around the world, but spin traditionally plays a role and it has over decades and decades,” he added.
Hough further recalled India’s debacle in Adelaide on the last tour and admitted that he had never witnessed such good bowling before. But going forward, Hough and his team will look to prepare a pitch that delivers an even contest between bat and ball.
“I’d never seen that in my time at Adelaide Oval, where every ball that went past the bat actually seamed. It was just good bowling. And I was saying to someone before, like, bowlers can have good days,” Hough said.
“We’re trying really hard to ensure that the balance between bat and ball is there and we can allow the batters to shine strategically throughout the course of the game. What we do know is, if the drop-in goes flat, they can go really flat, and history suggests that they can.
“So the grass helps us with the pace and the bounce, bounce in particular, and it just gives it enough seam, I suppose, and nibble with that new ball. And as the ball gets older, that’s where we hope that partnerships can be formed and the batters can start playing their good role in the game. So yeah, we’ll keep tweaking and keep trying to improve,” he added.
