India should play SA on turning tracks: Kapil

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India should play South Africa on turning tracks in the forthcoming two-match home Test series rather than playing on pace-friendly pitches, feels former captain Kapil Dev. More... India should play SA on turning tracks: Kapil January 30, 2010 19:55 IST India should play South Africa on turning tracks in the forthcoming two-match home Test series rather than playing on pace-friendly pitches, feels former captain Kapil Dev. Observing that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men don't possess a formidable fast bowling line-up, except for left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, Kapil said India should rely on their spin department in the home series. "Our strength is spin bowling and the wickets for the upcoming two Tests have to be prepared accordingly. Also, we don't have a quality pacer other than Zaheer Khan right now who can make an impact," Kapil said. "There is no point in having a pitch, which assists fast bowlers more than the spinners since South Africa has a much better pace attack in comparison to the hosts," Kapil said during a panel discussion on Aaj Tak. Nagpur will host the first Test commencing from February 6, followed by the second Test in Kolkata from February 14. Kapil was also worried with lanky pacer Ishant Sharma's recent loss of form. "Ishant's strength is his in-swinging delivery and if you lose your natural ability, then definitely, it is a cause for concern. Maybe batsmen have started reading him better now but he has to find ways to outwit them," Kapil observed. Meanwhile, New Zealand pace legend Richard Hadlee, who also took part in the discussion, said Indian fast bowlers should focus on Test cricket rather than playing all the three formats. "My observation of the Indian pace attack is that they are certainly quality bowlers and have it in them to take wickets and win games. However, they have to get out of this rut very quickly. It is actually very tough for pace bowlers to play all the three formats and deliver goods consistently," Hadlee said. "They will be a little bit tired, injured or jaded and there will be a loss of form. They need to be better managed, perhaps miss a few games to freshen up and be fired up for Test cricket," he added. "Some pacers perform exceptionally well in their debut year and then fade away. However, some of them stay in like Zaheer Khan and Glenn McGrath. Those who fade can also blame the amount of cricket that they play these days. They have to perform day in and day out, which is certainly not an easy task," said another fast bowling great Denis Lillee of Australia.

[Block hole]

Proteas ko ghuma ghuma ke maaro .

[cowboysfan]

i am not holding out much hope for nagpur being a turning track,a draw looks very likely.

[saneindian]

A grassy wicket for the practice match and two spinning tracks at Nagpur and Eden. This would be a good welcome for the visitors. Are the curators who prepared the pitches for the 2000-01 Aus series around? Get them to prepare similar tracks.

[cowboysfan]

the saffers will not complain about turning tracks looking at how they went all out in the 4th test against the poms by preparing a green track.

[saneindian]

the saffers will not complain about turning tracks looking at how they went all out in the 4th test against the poms by preparing a green track.

Rather I expect them to make noises about Kanpur right after landing in India to put our curators under some pressure.

[urbestfriend]

Why do I foresee slow and lifeless pitches and two draws are on the card :winky: We dont prepare pitches that assist fast bowlers because it suits opposition. No dust bowls because we dont want tests to finish in 3 days. Result: Curators try to prepare slow, lifeless pitches that helps batting. No wonder it is so boring to watch a test match in subcontinent.

[thevortex]

Why do I foresee slow and lifeless pitches and two draws are on the card :winky: We dont prepare pitches that assist fast bowlers because it suits opposition. No dust bowls because we dont want tests to finish in 3 days. Result: Curators try to prepare slow' date=' lifeless pitches that helps batting. No wonder it is so boring to watch a test match in subcontinent.[/quote'] I dont get this thought either. What should India do if the opposition team : 1) Does not have spinners worth their salt to try and force the issue in their favour 2) Does not have the capability of playing on a turning track to make the contest last the whole distance. When you think about it, the Indians too were at a point challenged when they came upon bouncing and seaming tracks. But that did not mean that we diss all such fields are cow pastures. We persevered and learnt to bat there. They can do the same. Why are we falling over each other to not produce turning tracks? We must.

[Ram]

Nagpur will be a highway, Kolkata will have a lot more for the bowlers(spinners) At least, that is the way it should be.

[Rajiv]

Mayajaal Pitch Should have a pitch like Mumbai

[yoda]

Our pitches are becoming worse. Chennai used to be a nice sporting track with good turn as the match progresses, has now become a patta. Delhi was fiasco last time. Mumbai is either a dust bowl or good turner or whatever, also there are two stadiums now. Kolkatta has traditionally been decent result oriented tracks, we will know soon this time around. Other places seem more of a batting paradise in general.

[Rajiv]

^^ Brabourne had the best pitch last time

[Ram]

And of course, Kapil is ABSOLUTELY 100% right. There shouldnt be even a morsel in the tracks for the faster bowlers. Any assistance a quick might get, should be because a)first session moisture and the new ball and b)reverse swing. If we can ensure this, our pace attack is more than a match for the one-dimensional pace battery. Not just that, we'll also have a significant comparative advantage with our combination of wrist+finger spinner, as opposed to their mediocre spin weapons. Instead of following this approach, if we get carried away with all the talk of 'sporting wicket' or 'pace and bounce', then that shall give the South Africans their best chance at beating us.

[pappu_kanghi]

Yeah why should we prove that we can play better on pitches that support fast bowlers. South Africa if they really are a contender for Number 1 spot, they should also prove themselves on slow turning tracks.

[Laaloo]

Last time these two teams faced off at Eden Gardens, harbhajan ramapaged through the saffers line up in the 2nd innings to set up a 8 wicket victory. Let's hope he does the same this time around. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64110.html

[ViruRulez]

I would agree .. it would be competitive for one and it would also help Zak and the spinners which are our main bowling strength

[bharat297]

We actually have a good chance on a grassy track I feel. This is the problem with our pitches ... We prepare pitches that kill off the fast bowlers chances and then we complain that our fast bowlers arent consistent enough and they are not fast enough. Given a pitch with a bit of life in it, I am sure Ishant will be much more difficult to handle. Furthermore Sreesanth will get the ball to nip all over the place and well Zaheer is our best period. The reason our bowlers have looked so bad in recent times is mainly because we have either been playing T20 or subcontinental cricket for over a year. It annoys me that we constantly assume our strength is spin bowling and put down our fast bowlers when well .. if you look at our spinners Bhajji, Mishra and Ojha ... tell me ... in the past 5 years, who has won us more games for us spinners or pacemen? Australia put out a grassy, fast-paced wicket in Perth and we ripped through them. I back our chances against South Africa.

[achilles]

I agree with Kapil Paaji. You need to have pace bowlers to play on pace-friendly wickets. And Zaheer can't do the work of 3 pacers.

[CG]

I agree with Kapil Paaji. You need to have pace bowlers to play on pace-friendly wickets. And Zaheer can't do the work of 3 pacers.

It seems kapil has not been following indian test cricket recently india versus australia-MOS-Ishant India versus england-MOS-Zaheer India versus lanka-sree and zak did well our spinners are struggling to get wickets and he says make turning tracks:haha::hysterical:

[thevortex]

It seems kapil has not been following indian test cricket recently india versus australia-MOS-Ishant India versus england-MOS-Zaheer India versus lanka-sree and zak did well our spinners are struggling to get wickets and he says make turning tracks:haha::hysterical:

Lets get one thing straight here, cricket_god. The two series you have quoted to begin with took place in seam friendly conditions. No matter how 'sporting' a pitch you try and prepare here in India, they are not going to match up to those conditions. Plus you are forgetting that BCCI awards the bigger centres only T20 and ODI matches not Tests. Those are sent to godforsaken locations. So, tell me, how can we expect so much out of this wicket? Both teams must just wake up and play on whatever track they have got there.