Don't Fuss About Pitches, Just Play Natural Game: Sunil Gavaskar Tells Team India
Sunil Gavaskar feels India are good enough to win on any surface. He hoped that Mohali will dish out conditions that will favour Virat Kohli's team.
Ahead of the first Test between India and South Africa in Mohali that starts on Thursday, the nature of the 22-yard pitch continues to dominate the build-up to the series. (Forty Grey Hair in His Beard, but Is Virat Kohli Mature Enough as Leader?)
That India may opt for three spinners is probably an indication of things to come, but former Test opener Sunil Gavaskar told NDTV on Wednesday that the nature of the pitch should not take the focus away from playing "natural and attacking" cricket. (Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla Approach Milestones)
"The Indian team is good enough to play on any kind of pitch. Hope they get a wicket that turns," Gavaskar said, adding that it's normal for teams to exploit home conditions. (Virat Kohli and Co. Seek Redemption)
The desperation for a spinning track comes on the back of a surface that saw India being whipped by 214 runs in a ODI match last month. South Africa smashed a record 438/4 on a Wankhede wicket that had nothing for the bowlers.
In the past, the ploy to play on rank turners backfired on India. England's Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann destroyed India in Mumbai in 2012. India lost by 10 wickets. Nathan Lyon, with a seven-wicket haul, almost gutted India in the Delhi Test against Australia in 2013.
In India's last Test in Mohali, India played with three spinners against Australia. Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin combined to take 14 out of the 20 wickets as India sealed victory by five wickets. In the last 21 years, India have lost only one Test out of the 11 played at this venue.
Gavaskar said Ashwin will be a key factor in Mohali, stating that he is the only bowler in the team who can take five wickets. The offspinner was sorely missed in the ODI series after he suffered a side strain in Kanpur that ruled him out of the remaining four ODIs.
With Virat Kohli aiming for redemption, Gavaskar said that it was tough picking a winner in this series. South Africa were "balanced" and in a good space having won the T20 and ODI series, said Gavaskar.
However, with India having lost only one series at home in the last 10 years and South Africa not having lost an overseas series for close to 10 years, the stage is set for a grand showdown between two determined teams.