NEWS
Follow UsIndia’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey has admitted that India have been taken aback by the extreme variable bounce they’ve seen in the Ranchi wicket across the first two days.
Pitch talk was minimal during the first three Tests of the series, but there was a lot of curiosity surrounding the Ranchi surface ahead of the ongoing fourth Test due to its ‘cracky’ appearance. On the eve of the Test, England skipper Ben Stokes labeled the pitch ‘interesting’, and claimed that he’s never seen a crack-filled pitch like the one here in Ranchi.
There was no extravagant turn on offer on each of the first two days of the Test, but plenty of deliveries kept frighteningly low. Stokes, on Day 1, got out to a ball that pretty much rolled and hit his ankle while on Day 2, both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rajat Patidar were undone by variable bounce.
In the aftermath of India slipping to 219/7 at the end of Day 2, in response to England’s 353, their bowling coach Mhambrey admitted that the team has been bemused by the extreme nature of the variable bounce seen as early as the second day.
“From the couple of games we’ve previously seen being played here, generally the wicket gets slower and slower as the game progresses. In the past also if you see a couple of games we’ve played, it has gotten slower. And it’s been on the lower side as well. We expected that,” Mhambrey said after Day 2.
“But to be honest, we didn’t expect the ball to keep so low on the second day itself. A couple of balls did keep very low in the first innings as well. We didn’t expect that. We expected the pitch to be slow, but we didn’t expect extreme variable bounce.”
The Team India bowling coach made it clear that the management did not request the curator to prepare a ‘turner’, and further claimed that the Ranchi surface has so far not been a ‘rank turner’. Variable bounce, he reaffirmed, is what’s caused the downfall of the batters.
“Firstly, the venues are something we cannot control. This was a venue allotted for the series,” Mhambrey said.
“The other bit is that, the way the wicket plays over here in Ranchi is always similar. I wouldn’t call this a rank turner. I don’t think there have been too many deliveries that have spun sharply.
“Variable bounce has definitely been there and that’s what has made batting difficult. But that’s the nature of the soil. There were no specific instructions that we wanted to play on a turner.”
On the day, India were downed by a spirited bowling performance from young Shoaib Bashir, who picked 4+ wickets in an innings for the first time in his first-class career. Brought into the side in place of Rehan Ahmed, Bashir, in a remarkable showing, bowled 30 straight overs post lunch (unchanged) and ran through the Indian batting line-up. He picked 3 wickets in the post-lunch session and then, after tea, accounted for the massive wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Mhambrey was full of praise for the rookie, who had a day to remember.
“I think they bowled well. Bashir, in particular, bowled really well. He kept a good line, bowled good and simple lines and lengths. At this level, you expect the opponents to do that. He kept it simple and picked wickets because of that,” Mhambrey said.
Bowling a stump-to-stump line worked wonders for both Bashir and Tom Hartley, but Mhambrey asserted that the Indian spinners wouldn’t necessarily replicate what the England spinners did, because ‘each spinner has his own method’.
“Every spinner has their own way of bowling. Bashir stuck to his strength. He’s not a big spinner of the ball, he’s a tall guy who hits a good length and keeps it simple. Same way for Hartley as well. Every individual will stick to their strengths,” Mhambrey said.
“I don’t think we are looking at doing something that they’ve done. We need to stick to what works for us, our strengths. Hopefully we’ll pick up wickets as the game progresses.”
134 runs behind on a track that’s rapidly deteriorating, India find themselves well behind in the contest. But the team India bowling coach asserted that the game is far from over.
“What’s important right now is as close to the England total. We’ve got two set batters who’ve got their eye in and have already added 40 runs together. What we really need to look at is, mentally we need to bat well in the second innings whatever the target is. It’s that simple.”
