How BCCI and Indian Curators missed a trick, big time!!!

[fineleg]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvrsa/content/current/story/344516.html Chennai offers perfect warm-up for visitors South Africa didn't get a practice game prior to this series but they would have been pleasantly surprised with the generosity granted to them at the MA Chidambaram Stadium :angry_smile:. The surface provided was like the one you would expect in a warm-up game, and they leave for Ahmedabad with all their batsmen getting plenty of time in the middle. Win toss, bat first, pile on a big score and give your bowlers a good workout - South Africa got all the ingredients that's part of a lead-up match. Even as early as the first day, it was pretty clear that the possibility of a result were remote. India missed a great chance to hit South Africa early and capitalise on their lack of preparation. :angry_smile:. It was the best opportunity to catch their batsmen on the wrong foot - like Australia regularly manage in Brisbane, :angry_smile:. which usually hosts the first Test of a tour on a pacy track - but the pitch allowed them the perfect chance to acclimatise to the conditions. South Africa will obviously be thrilled with their batsmen's efforts, but it's their fightback with the ball on the fourth day that will give them the most cheer. To have recovered from the shellacking handed out by Virender Sehwag and return with such bristling intensity was a clear sign of how eager they are to do well in this series. Not only did they stop India from rattling along but imposed themselves on the middle and late order. Graeme Smith said he couldn't remember a day when his side bounced back so well. "It was an incredible [fourth] day," he said, "and to then come out and bat as solidly and positively as we did was good for us. It was about keeping it really simple with the ball. We changed gameplans, decided to take the new ball early and knew we needed to attack. Our bowlers maybe looked for a bit too much swing with the first new ball but we changed the gameplan on day four. "I can't think of any day when we shifted the game so much. We've batted out days and bowled well in others but this was different." How did his side plan to handle Virender Sehwag in the forthcoming games? "His whole game is suited to these sort of wickets," he said. "We've seen him struggle on wickets with some pace and bounce. Here he's set up - he's unorthodox. I think we've got good gameplans against him. They may not have worked here but that doesn't mean we didn't plan." I thought we bowled really well - from the start that they had in the first session to pull it back and also to pick their last four wickets pretty quickly Anil Kumble If South Africa fought back on the fourth day, India did a good job on the second and third. Anil Kumble praised his side for the comeback and even said they could take more out of this game than their opponents. "I thought we bowled really well - from the start that they had in the first session to pull it back and also to pick their last four wickets pretty quickly," he said. "That was the positive thing. Having said that the way we came and batted being 540 down, showed a lot of character." Was he concerned Harbhajan Singh and himself weren't as effective as might have been expected? "As soon as you come to India people start talking about spinners right from day one and till the last day, people keep mentioning spinners. Even when we're playing away , it's about the spinners, that's something I've noticed through my career. We have the experience and would like to do well but it's not just about spin. Everybody has the role and responsibility to do for the team and I am first a bowler and then a captain. It was tough the first couple of days when the wicket played at its best. "South Africa have travelled well, if you look at the way they have done from the time they first came here to now, they have been improving. That is a challenge for us. We definitely have the potential to ensure we take wickets on any surface."

[fineleg]

We shud have nailed the SAFfies with spin pitch and caught them without immediate practice before Madras test. We wasted the opportunity, should have been 1-0 up after Test-1! "The surface provided was like the one you would expect in a warm-up game, and they leave for Ahmedabad with all their batsmen getting plenty of time in the middle"

[Kartikey]

I was looking forward to the IPL, but because of it, these stupid batsman friendly paradises are being produced. :((:((

[Desi Cartman]

I was looking forward to the IPL' date=' but because of it, these stupid batsman friendly paradises are being produced. :((:(([/quote'] yup thats what came to my mind ... that these kind of pitches are being prepared for IPL games to be high scoring

[King Tendulkar]

I agree with OP. A real chance missed.

[DomainK]

BCCI is keeping up with the old Indian tradition of being great hosts...."Atithi devo bhava". They will do everything to make the guests happy.

[Willow_on_fire]

big fcuk up!!!....all flat...and no bounce...if you know what I mean...:hysterical:

[King Tendulkar]

Not just a chance missed but also really BORING!

[umpire]

One word "RAIN"

[The Outsider]

One word "RAIN"

In that case I would have preferred if they had left the pitch uncovered for the rain. At least a result would have been guaranteed on a sticky wicket.

[Laaloo]

http://www.cricketnext.com/news/why-bother-with-test-cricket-at-all/30662-13.html Why bother with Test cricket at all? Jaideep Ghosh | Cricketnext.com Chennai: A wag said during the tea break on the fifth day of the first Test here: "Mount Road (a landmark in this city) is being re-laid, and K. Parthasarathy (the curator at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium) has been called as a consultant." The square here is good enough to land a helicopter. No amount of effort from any of the bowlers, spinners and seamers alike, was at any stage good enough to make the Test match even remotely look at a decision. What a waste of a sensational knock played by Virender Sehwag. Cut to the Punjab Cricket Association pitch at Mohali, in the year 1994. West Indies skipper Courtney Walsh, on the day before the match, came out on the pitch, and dropped a cricket ball on it. The ball bounced back almost to midriff height to the towering Walsh. He immediately turned away and did a jig. India went on to lose the Test comprehensively. A few years later New Zealand dismissed India for 82 on the same pitch, and that was the end of that. Now, there is little difference between Mohali and Chennai. The mantra is simple. No association is ready to risk the home team losing at their centre, so the best thing to do is to play it safe. This square in Chennai, re-laid before last year’s Ranji season, made an absolute mockery of what could well have been a keen match, failing to allow the spinners any purchase or turn, even well into the fifth day. On the flip side, this is perfect for Twenty20, and with the IPL round the corner, maybe that is what led to this square being packed like granite. So does that mean we can now forget about Test cricket? Almost all the tracks all over, be it Kolkata, Bangalore, Mohali or Chennai, is being made great for stroke-play, but definitely will be nightmares if bowlers were expected to get 20 wickets on them. There surely is a middle path, between the quagmire offered to the Australians at Mumbai during their last Test tour here, and this virtual runway dished out to the South Africans. There is, but it needs some courage. Who wants to risk not getting Tests at all? So why not play safe, and make sure that the home team doesn’t lose at that centre. Or even better, why bother with Test cricket at all? After all, Twenty20 is here.