During the first day of the third Test match of Australia’s tour of India 2023 in Indore, India captain Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat first after winning the toss has gone horribly wrong.
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The home team, which must’ve thought of piling on the runs just like the last two Tests here, lost as many as five wickets within the first one hour of the match. Sharma (12), who was fortunate enough to receive a couple of reprieves in the first over itself, eventually became the first Indian batter to be get out.
With Australia captain Steven Smith introducing spin for the first time in the form of Matthew Kuhnemann, it all happened on the last delivery of the sixth over when Sharma aimed at stepping down the track for an aerial shot only to miss the ball altogether. With Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey not erring behind the stumps, Sharma had no option than to walk back to the pavilion.
With the ball turning square within the first 30 minutes itself, one had assumed for more batters to be dismissed in quick succession. The assumption turned out to be true as Kuhnemann dismissed Shubman Gill (21) in his next over. India batter Cheteshwar Pujara (1) received a shocker of a delivery for a Day 1 pitch in the following Nathan Lyon over as vicious turn and low bounce led to his dismissal.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (4) and batter Shreyas Iyer (0) were dismissed within four balls as both of them were deceived by the slowness of the surface whilst playing their shots.
What is Rank turner pitch in cricket?
In a match such as this, terms such as “rank turner” and “turning square” are used commonly by the commentators to describe the pitch. Any pitch which starts to make the ball turn viciously from the first session of a Test match is generally categorized as a rank-turner.
Considering how such a surface takes fast bowlers out of the equation and makes life unfairly difficult for batters, it is not conducive for a five-day Test match. It would be an understatement to express shock with respect to the pitch at the Holkar Stadium because it is highly likely to entirely spoil the intention of conducting a Test match.
While it is always a good idea to wait for both the teams to have batted once on a given pitch, early signs of this pitch are disappointing, to say the least.
Dinesh Karthik, Brad Hogg and others slam Indore pitch sarcastically
With former captain Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batter Srikar Bharat currently batting, India require them to build a solid partnership to avoid an embarrassing innings total.
