A predictable narrative takes over anytime India trounce an opponent in a cricket game at home. Indeed, regardless of who it is, the state of the pitch that the match was played on takes center stage as the losing team cries foul play. This is typically followed up by India’s retort which is a detailed breakdown of the unpleasantness of being a sore loser.
Let the mud-slinging begin
There is often a lot of doubling down on both sides during these heated exchanges, just like we saw after India took an unassailable 2-1 lead against England after an extraordinary test in Ahmedabad. On this particular occasion, it was Michael Vaughan who was the most outspoken critic on the English side as the former Test captain penned an astonishing article in the Telegraph titled ‘India’s power is allowing them to turn Test cricket into a freakshow with substandard pitches.’ As you can see, Vaughan didn’t pull any punches or mince his words.
Subsequently, Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin responded by saying that India never complains about pitches they have to play on away from home and haven’t once told any other nation how to prepare wickets. Ashwin, a former ICC Test cricketer of the year, cited the time India didn’t kick up a fuss despite a two-match Test series in New Zealand finishing in less than five days.
🗣️ 🗣️ “We have never complained about the pitch in the past.”#TeamIndia‘s ace spinner @ashwinravi99 sets the record straight.@Paytm #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/K2V4OvBQDn
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 27, 2021
Emotions can often run high when one side tries to make a more compelling point than the other and a lot of reason can get lost in the surrounding noise. So what do the facts say when we remove the passion and intensity that a difference in opinions can bring? What happens if we instead look at this purely from a statistical point of view? Perhaps we should start by looking ahead to the upcoming World Cup in India and the feeling among millions of cricket fans regarding India’s chances on home soil.
Rob “Regulations” Key @robkey612 hammers the Ahmedabad pitch as he @wardyshorts, @nassercricket & @athersmike reflect on pink-ball Test 🏏
England’s team selection & rotation policy, plus third umpiring & DRS are also on the agenda 🇮🇳🆚🏴
🔊 Download 👉 https://t.co/ZjgNoPYLbj pic.twitter.com/tTpxSAs0mp
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 25, 2021
The secret is out
The last time India lost a Test series at home was in 2012 and that was against England. Since going down to Sir Alastair Cook’s team, India have gone on to win 12 straight Test series at home and have remained unbeaten at home in nine years.
Given their superiority at home, it won’t come as any surprise to learn that India are the favorites to win the T20 World Cup. Indeed, there has already been a clamor to bet on the Indians lifting their second T20 World Cup and more and more people will do so. In fact, these online gambling reviews have assisted many people in the Middle East in finding the best odds on team India winning the tournament. For anyone who is not aware, these reviews are of the best sportsbooks and casinos for players in the Middle East and North Africa. Cricket lovers will find various game types, the best possible sporting odds and exciting bonus offers when signing up.
In many ways, you can understand the stampede to back India at the 2021 World Cup given how favorable home conditions have been made for them in recent times.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone
Now, India has historically been a tough place to tour and there is no crime in making life extremely hard for the opposition when they come to town. All the top cricketing nations do so given that they ask their groundsmen to prepare wickets that will suit their style of play.
Any player going out to bat at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, for instance, will find a green pitch full of bounce waiting for them. The same can be said for the Gabba in Brisbane and Sabina Park in the West Indies, batsmen can expect sweet chin music from ball one. That is the feature of touring countries that have historically produced outstanding fast bowlers: the wickets will be prepared accordingly to get the most out of their strengths.
India is obviously on the other side of the spectrum as their spinners take center stage on wickets that suit a turning ball. It really is no secret, every country does it and it is widely acknowledged as part of the challenge of touring away from home.
How much is enough? Just a little bit more
But this is the crucial point, over the last decade though, it does feel like India have taken pitch preparation to the extreme in order to increase their chances of winning. You just have to look at how unplayable Joe Root’s normally docile leg-spin was on the Ahmedabad wicket. Root, who has a modest Test bowling average of 41, was astonishingly able to claim five wickets in India’s first innings.
‘What makes a good surface? Who defines this?’
A fiery response by R Ashwin to questions about the Ahmedabad pitch #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/ZVWVFcgkCh
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 27, 2021
Could you for one moment imagine Virat Kohli taking five wickets in an innings during a Test match in South Africa or Australia? It does just feel like the contest has been made disproportionately unfair and that in actual fact, the BCCI does have a case to answer for in terms of the quality of their pitches over the last 10 years.
If there is no effort made to rein in the various groundsmen around India and the influence they have on the pitches across the country then sadly this is a subject that won’t go away, and nor should it. The irony is that this Indian team is comfortably the best in the world and doesn’t need any advantages. Indeed, Kohli’s men ought to be regarded as one of the finest Test teams of any generation but for that to be the case, they cannot have this asterisk hanging beside their names.
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