Australia vs India 2018, 2nd Test: Has Tim Paine trumped Virat Kohli in reading Perth pitch?

Before the Perth Test, there was a lot of discussion surrounding the nature of the pitch. The curator himself said that this is the bounciest pitch that India could encounter during the tour. Many former Australian cricketers and the media commented as to how the pace and bounce in the pitch will help Australian pacers in wreaking havoc on the Indian batting line up.

The Indian captain Virat Kohli, never one to shy away from psychological games, too retaliated by saying that the Indian team is ‘excited’ to see ‘the green, lively Perth pitch’. Michael Vaughan also felt that the pacey Perth pitch may actually favour the Indians, with their battery of world-class pace bowlers.

The debate on the nature of the pitch dominated the pre-match build-up to such an extent that there were even discussions regarding what the captain winning the toss would do. Tim Paine said that it may actually be ‘a good toss to lose’, as it may be a risky proposition to win the toss and bat on a ‘green’ pitch!

However, when it came to team selection, Paine ignored the hype and went with a more conventional team that included their lead spinner Nathan Lyon. However, Kohli went with a supposedly aggressive approach of having a four-man pace attack, and left out the lone spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, from the playing XI.

On the evidence of how the pitch has played in the first two sessions of day one, it is becoming increasingly clear that Kohli has been trumped by Paine in reading the pitch. The pitch is far from the bouncy and pacey one it was supposed to be.

In fact, there are early signs that the pitch will assist spin and seeing the way Vihari got the wicket of Harris, India must be regretting the decision to leave out a front-line spinner, already.

Nathan Lyon’s selection and Jadeja’s exclusion from their respective teams could ultimately decide the outcome of the match.