Have no idea what India did with this pitch. They produced good pitches in the England series with big first innings scores and then spin happening from day 4. Strange indeed.
I think it wasn’t deliberately that bad. The curator really screwed it up.
It was the first ever test match held at this venue so there are no previous tests to gauge whether this pitch was par for the course for the venue or whether the Indians horribly misjudged the benefit of preparing such a pitch. I prefer to think it was the latter because that would be hilarious. It’s also hard to think that a pitch like that could ever be “normal”.
Hey Harbhajan, how’s your whitewash and “worst Australian side to tour here” going now?
I think it wasn't deliberately that bad. The curator really screwed it up.
When you don’t water it for almost a week in the lead up it was always going to break up. FWIW I don’t think it was that bad of a pitch, some fairly poor shots led to the majority of wickets. There wasn’t too many that stayed low or leaped off the pitch. Have seen far worse pitches before
EAD Kohli
I wonder if Kumble though SOK just bowled steadily again today? Not a lot of respect for his batsmen.
SOK has been fantastic, glad he was given a go afterso many expertsWarne didn't want him in the side“O’Keefe is the safe option because you know he’s not going to bowl much rubbish,” Warne said.
"You don’t see him as a huge danger with big-turning deliveries. He bowls tight. “In these conditions, guys like Swepson and Agar could have been more of a danger option.”He’s right, 11 wickets so far isn’t good enough. I mean India has given up 16 wickets at this time and he has only taken 11 of them. Swepson or Agar would have been better.
So Warne’s a fool for thinking guys who spin it more would be more of a danger?
Didn’t you say yourself that the Indians are playing for spin that isnt there?
Im loving that SOKs success has surprised so many people but i think you’re being a bit harsh on Warne (purely based on the quotes you provided).
Fark Warne. If SOK returned average figures, like Warne regularly did over there, he would be the first person saying “I told you so”.
SA in a bit of trouble, George on a hat trick after claiming Ferguson for a globe and Head first ball
Anyone else sense that, from the moment Kohli was out in each innings, India dogged it? Was like the air going out of a kiddy’s lost balloon each time. Bad sIgn, mentally fragile. Happened with some of their weak 00’s teams too when Tendulkar failed.
If visting sides always had the choice to bat or bowl first, pitch doctoring would go away.
If visting sides always had the choice to bat or bowl first, pitch doctoring would go away.Yep
SOK has been fantastic, glad he was given a go afterso many expertsWarne didn't want him in the side“O’Keefe is the safe option because you know he’s not going to bowl much rubbish,” Warne said.
"You don’t see him as a huge danger with big-turning deliveries. He bowls tight. “In these conditions, guys like Swepson and Agar could have been more of a danger option.”He’s right, 11 wickets so far isn’t good enough. I mean India has given up 16 wickets at this time and he has only taken 11 of them. Swepson or Agar would have been better.
So Warne’s a fool for thinking guys who spin it more would be more of a danger?
Didn’t you say yourself that the Indians are playing for spin that isnt there?
Im loving that SOKs success has surprised so many people but i think you’re being a bit harsh on Warne (purely based on the quotes you provided).
You only want to turn it half to one widths of the bat. Extravagant turn gets one wicket in 1000. It’s like golf “Drive for show, putt for dough”. Causes people to go “wow” but not much more.
Half the effort is in the air with drift and drop. That causes batsmen to misjudge the pitch of the ball.
Warne did get some spectacular big-turning wickets, but he got a huge number with top-spinners, and if we’d had DRS then, he’d have got 300 more.
SA in a bit of trouble, George on a hat trick after claiming Ferguson for a globe and Head first ball7 for now. Carey and Zampa quacks too. Wildermuth 4 and George 3. Boof Junior 36 not.
WA 6 for, about 100 in front. Tremain 3 and Patto 2.
Tassie 3-160 chasing NSW 256. Doran out of the team, despite being next Australian keeper as soon as he returns to NSW. He has been a dismal non-performer in the batting department.
Vics 3/14, Behrendorff with all 3. Still trail by 150.
QLD 4/51, lead by 113
Tas have hit the front 5 down
“Mitchell Starc, who scored 61 and 30 and claimed Kohli for a second ball duck, is now the fourth-ranked Test allrounder, behind Ashwin, Bangaldesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Jadeja.”
Behrendorff looks like breaking all the records.
Hang on minute while I go get the violin Harbhajan you little grub.
After his ‘worst team to tour’ prediction backfired, Harbhajan has doubled down by questioning Stephen O’Keefe’s record-breaking spell.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has declined to praise first Test player of the match Stephen O’Keefe, saying he will wait until he plays on a “good Test match wicket” before sharing his views on the Australian.
Harbhajan says the pitch, where 40 wickets fell inside three days, played a significant part in O’Keefe’s haul and Australia’s upset victory.
“I will have to see (O’Keefe) bowl on a good Test match wicket,” Harbhajan told the Indian Express. "Not this one. Till then, I will reserve my comments.
"To be honest, that wasn’t a pitch. Test cricket should last five days.
"You cannot play on such wickets where anyone runs in to bowl and takes wickets.
"I have played in over 100 Tests, and I know how hard I had to work to earn every single wicket.
"When you prepare such a wicket, you are making conditions favourable for the opposition as well. That’s what happened in Pune.
“When I say a good Test wicket, I mean a strip where the ball does not shoot up from the first day itself.”
In the lead up to the first Test Harbhajan predicted a 4-0 result to the hosts and that Steve Smith’s men were the “weakest Australian side to tour India”