Ind vs Eng 3rd Test: As India takes a break in the series, they’ll be checking stats to see if England’s spinners are doing better.
Rahul Dravid says he’s not sure what the pitches in India will do. He’ll chat with the groundsman when the team regroups in Rajkot.
Earlier, after India won in Cape Town, Rohit Sharma said pitches in India will spin. But people don’t like it because it happens from the start.
But so far in the series, we haven’t seen that. England thought they’d get tricky pitches in India, but that hasn’t happened yet. While Ollie Pope played spin well in Hyderabad, both teams scored lots of runs. In Visakhapatnam, the pitch didn’t spin much.
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The plan was to have spin-friendly pitches in this series, but not ones that break too quickly. This was to challenge England’s inexperienced spinners and to acknowledge that India’s batting isn’t as strong without Virat Kohli.
Dravid said young Indian batsmen find it tough on such wickets because they play more limited-overs cricket than first-class matches.
India also considered the kind of cricket England plays now. They’re not scared like they were before. Under Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England plays risky cricket which could work on extreme pitches.
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THE SECOND PART
Both teams have started strong. But like a tennis match, the series could change in the second half.
Jasprit Bumrah is bowling amazingly, but he needs rest. When he sits out, India might turn to spin. The last Test in Dharmshala might favor pacers early in the morning.
While England figures out how to handle Bumrah, India is worried about England’s spinners doing better than theirs.
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Tom Hartley has been England’s best spinner, improving after a tough start. Other English spinners have supported him well. Together, they’ve taken most of India’s wickets.
This is different from England’s last tour of India in 2021 when India’s spinners did better.
Both teams will plan during the break. India knows England’s strong batting lineup. Can India’s batters handle spin better? Would Ashwin and Kuldeep benefit from spin-friendly pitches?
Even during their break, cricket will be on the teams’ minds. There’s still a lot of cricket to play in this series.
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