St John’s, ANTIGUA — Step on the mounds at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on the outskirts of St. John’s, and you can see a singular pitch in the distance. Three days before the first Test between West Indies and India commences here (on July 21), it looked crisp brown. Step a little closer and you will see fresh patches of grass all over it, perhaps to hold the wicket together for five days. It might not be enough though.
“We have seen in the past that pitches sometimes have a sprinkling of grass, but they tend to slow down nevertheless as the game progresses,” said Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar on Tuesday. “We are expecting slow wickets throughout the series, but it remains to be seen how much grass is left on this pitch before the first day of the Test.”
There cannot be an iota of doubt that the final situation of this pitch will have a bearing on the combination India will go in with. It brings about a strong possibility that the visitors will opt for their full arsenal of spinners – R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra. Just how will West Indies measure up to this troika?
Everywhere you go in the Caribbean, anyone you talk to, will say that the pitches here have slowed down considerably. The other fanciful topic is obviously the decline of West Indies’ cricket as a whole, and in reality the two are associated somewhat. No more do you get the battery of pacers going full tilt at visiting batsmen. Why, Shannon Gabriel stands in front of the likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay. It can be safely assumed that they might just have a better time playing him than his own batsmen when faced with India’s spin troika.
Walsh: The wickets will be a test for the West Indies’ batsmen
“Ideally you want to see a balance of conditions, something in it for pacers on the first two days, and then the pitch should help batsmen and spinners. You can hope for this now, but don’t hold too much of it, given how the pitches here have slowed down. I think they have slowed down a bit too much for our liking. So these slower wickets will definitely help India and it will be a test for the West Indies’ batsmen,” said legendary pacer and now WICB selector Courtney Walsh, ahead of the first Test.
He was in St. Kitts for the two practice matches last week, and his exasperation could be seen from the wickets laid out for the two games. A few Indian players weren’t really surprised, deeming the wickets as similar to the ones back home, albeit slower and producing a touch more bounce. Needless to say, their spinners are licking lips.
At the front of this line is R Ashwin, India’s foremost spin weapon at present. He is almost unplayable at home, particularly if the pitches provide even a little assistance. Nine months ago, South Africa came face-to-face against him on tailored tracks and they can vouch how lethal he can be.
However, the fact that those pitches were ‘tailored’ hides his abilities a bit. Roll back a couple months though, when India were playing in Sri Lanka last year, and pitches there were more akin to what we might find in the West Indies now, particularly in terms of bounce.
It was similarly so in St. Kitts atleast, as Ashwin was deployed in the second hour of play on day one of the second tour match. Post lunch, he tempted Test-hopeful John Campbell to charge down, and had him stumped. It was a battle that had lasted almost an hour, as the bowler had pegged away but found the batsman unwilling. For the rest of the day, he bowled in tandem with Ravindra Jadeja, who was brought into the attack at the other end.
The left-arm spinner’s returns from that game were a mixed bag. In the first innings, he bowled an extensive spell of 13 overs, taking 3-16, a clever mix of quick, straight deliveries and his natural variation. Two days later, he bowled from a different end, and was smacked this time for three sixes within an hour. Ashwin, meanwhile, had started off with the new ball and finished with 3-59. The underlining point herein is the pairing of these two spinners – one attacked, the other held fort, their roles reversed as conditions changed and situations fluctuated.
“Bowling on these slower wickets will be challenging. We need our bowlers to be patient and be consistent with their line and length. It is most important that they compliment each other and bowl in partnerships,” opined Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Will Amit Mishra grow under Kumble’s guidance?
Then there is the third leg of this tripod, Amit Mishra. Overlooked by MS Dhoni for most part of his Test captaincy, he has become a vital cog in Kohli’s plans, someone who loves mixing up his different bowling options in short spells. In Sri Lanka, he was the second-choice spinner. At home against South Africa, with Jadeja returned, he was demoted to third-choice. It isn’t a factor lost out on the leggie, and yet it is very well what drives him.
Not to mention, he is the one who benefits most by the arrival of legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble as Indian coach. On Monday, Mishra was handed out a coaching manual, with Kumble marking up zones on the practice pitch as to where the leggie might be able to get most purchase. It is not to say that Ashwin or Jadeja won’t gain in a same manner, but Mishra will finally be able to make a step up and live up to the billing of being Kumble’s successor, that too under his tutelage.
“I personally believe that we have forged a great partnership between the three of us,” said Jadeja, in the build-up to the first Test. “We have three different spin bowlers – off-break, left-arm and leg-break – and all of us have different variations. Why, all of us have different bowling speeds. It will be challenging for the West Indies’ batsmen in the upcoming series.”
To restrict this as an ominous warning for the hosts is easy. In fairness though, the spin troika is the baseline upon which team India will challenge for the Test number one ranking over the course of 17 Tests (away in West Indies, afterwards at home against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia) in this 2016-17 season.
And it begins on Thursday.
