The blockbuster India-Pakistan match on Sunday (February 15) will reportedly be played on the same surface that hosted the Australia Vs Zimbabwe clash on Friday. According to a report in The Times of India,
the used pitch is expected to be ‘slow and testing for batters’.
In that match, Zimbabwe scored 169/2 in the first innings, with top-order batters finding it difficult to score boundaries. In reply, Australia were skittled for 146. However, it needs to be noted that ten of the 12 wickets fell to fast bowlers or medium pacers, who used bouncers and slower ones well.
But if the pitch does have more help for spinners on Sunday, India might not be too happy with it.
“Two back-to-back pitches haven’t been batting-friendly,” India all-rounder Hardik Pandya had said when receiving his Player-of-the-Match award for the match against Namibia. “Wicket was holding a bit today. You just adapt and let your skill-set work. We’d like a little more flatter wickets.”
In that match, the Indian batters struggled against spinners, with Gerhard Erasmus particularly troubling them with his low, round-arm action to pick a four-wicket haul. In the previous game against the USA, pacer Shadley van Schalkwyk took four wickets, mostly using his change of pace and the grip on the surface.
The wickets in this T20 World Cup have been more competition-friendly, with something for everyone. That is unlike what most Indian players have been used to playing in the IPL, which is seeing an upward trend for 200-plus pitches.
Pakistan will want to use that opportunity and deploy their whole plethora of spinners to test the Men in Blue. So far, they have used Usman Tariq (who bowls the same round-arm spin like Erasmus), Shadam Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Salma Ali Agha, and Saim Ayub, who could all be in the starting 11.
India would argue that they have the best in the world, Varun Chakaravarthy, who’s in stellar form too. But they might also want to find a way to include Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh could be expended. If the defending champions look for an overkill, they could go for all-rounder Washington Sundar in place of Rinku Singh.
