The pitches in India have been a heavily debated topic. During the recently concluded West Indies series, India chased 406 in the second ODI. The same series saw West Indies chase 352 in the final ODI before chasing 250 in the second T20I. While the run feasts entertained the fans, the critics argued that playing on such a flat surface will do more harm than good when India tour overseas.
Their biggest fear came true when a star-studded Indian A batting lineup fell like a pack of cards against New Zealand A in the first unofficial Test. The Indian team had all the Test regulars, but they looked clueless against New Zealand’s domestic bowlers as the team was bowled out for 113 in just the 40th over. KL Rahul departed for a duck, while Yashasvi Jaiswal only made 17. Devdutt Padikkal hung around for a while and scored 32 before being dismissed. Dhruv Jurel scored a solitary run while Washington Sundar failed to open his account. Overall, five Indian batters scored ducks in the innings.
Harsha Bhogle wasn’t impressed by India’s performance and stressed the need for better wickets, saying that players must learn to play on different pitches than on bland, heartless pitches that are good for T20 cricket.
“A very good India A side bowled out for 113 and a good bowling line-up being countered easily by New Zealand A. The very reason why home and away cricket is important and why you must learn to play on different surfaces rather than on the same, bland, heartless pitches we think are good for T20 cricket,” he wrote on X.
The Indian batting will have plenty of time to get used to the conditions as they will play three unofficial Tests in New Zealand before the Test series gets underway. The series is part of the World Test Championship and India need to win it to keep realistic hopes of reaching the WTC final.