Although the Indian cricket team finished off with a commanding 2-0 series win over the West Indies, the management of the Indian cricket team was highly dissatisfied with the pitch on which the second test was to be held in the Arun Jaitley Stadium, which used to be the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. It is true that India won the match by seven wickets on the last day, but the victory did not do much in concealing the issues with the playing surface, with head coach Gautam Gambhir terming it as alarming.
There was minimal support for the pace and spin bowlers in the Test. The pacers of India, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, were not able to impress people, and Gambhir made no secret of his anger in the press conference after the match. “I suppose we might have had a better wicket here. Yes, we had got the result, but Nicks had not been carrying it, and there was nothing in it to the fast bowlers,” he said. “When you have two first-rate pacers, you want them not standing about to wait till the ball comes back after 40 overs, but actively engaged in the game.”
Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar of India could also not find much to play on the Kotla surface, which was historically known to be a slow turn. Both had slight grip and bounce, and they had difficulty in making breaches, West Indian batters being perfectly at their ease in defense and rotation of the strike. The carry, added Gambhir, did not exist. Something must be in the wicket – pace, bounce, turn. Otherwise, it is simply a bat-friendly area that does not come to life until the fourth day.
As of the future, the management of India has already expressed their wishes in the pitches during the next two test series against South Africa, beginning November 14, and matches will take place in Kolkata and Guwahati. The team is also wishing to see more life-giving surfaces, whereby Bumrah and Siraj can affect the match early on.
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