Rajiv Gandhi Stadium Hyderabad Pitch Report For IND vs ENG 1st Test
Pitch will be in focus again as India host England [X.com]
The Rajiv Gandhi Int'l Stadium in Hyderabad plays host to arguably the most anticipated Test match between India and England in recent years as the dominant hosts strive to thwart the rising 'Bazball' threat in the first game of the marquee five-match series, starting Thursday (January 25).
Due to India's prolonged rotation policy for venues, Hyderabad hasn't been a regular host to Test matches, even though the ground boasts a proud history and produces among the most balanced surfaces for first-class cricket.
Hyderabad tends to uphold the traditional Indian pitch which is good for batting first up while offering a slowish turn off the deck for spinners until Day 3 and only starts to rag square in the back half of the Test matches on days 4 and 5.
Hyderabad Pitch Report
The black soil surfaces at the venue tend to require extra watering, or else the track would only break up early and make life extremely difficult for the batters since the uneven bounce for the seamers would also enter the picture.
At a time when World Test Championship (WTC) points have been the priority for teams across the globe, there has been a constant fight between curators, head coaches, and captains to get their desired strip.
If the Indian team management had the curators playing to their wishes, Hyderabad might turn earlier than it historically has for spinners, with less watering resulting in a loose pitch where the ball would turn with bite and venom.
Combine it with up and down bounce for the seamers, and this could be a low-scoring affair where the Indian spinners' relentless control and accuracy, as well as the new-ball pairing of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, could be the ultimate difference between the two teams.
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 "Kashish Chadha")
