Blame quality of batting and not Mohali pitch, says Ravichandran Ashwin
R Ashwin has lashed out at the criticism that the Mohali pitch has been receiving, saying that it's the poor batting that makes the wicket look what it is. South African opener Dean Elgar, who also tooh four wickets in the first innings had described it as “not a very good cricket wicket” after 12 wickets had fallen on the first day.
Ten more fell on the second day, but batsmen like Vijay and de Villiers did show batting was possible on the pitch, which has offered a lot of sideways turn but not alarming bounce.
Sunil Gavaskar had said in his pitch report that he "had never seen before" such a day-one pitch in Mohali. However, Ashwin feels that too much is being read into the pitch. None of the spinner's five wickets came because of awkward turn from the pitch.
"To bowl [on this pitch] it's all about how it's coming out of your hand," Ashwin said. "For me it's coming out really well. So I don't think I require much turn from any pitch at this point of time."
Ashwin went on to compare the perceived reaction to green tops when India are touring outside Asia. "Honestly I think it's the batting that makes the wicket look what it is," the 29-year old said. "I don't know if any Indian journalist knows the name of the curator in Johannesburg or Port Elizabeth, but we seem to get a hang of Daljit Singh [the curator in Mohali] very quickly. None of us go to South Africa and say the wicket is green, this much grass is less green at the bottom. I don't hear any such statements, but unfortunately here the first day some of my good friends came and said the wicket is a little drier and stuff. We have played way too long in Mohali to know how the wicket works."
"I think it's very important to bowl good pace on this wicket," Ashwin said after his five-wicket haul. "I have not seen any batsman defending and get out apart from the one that happened to [M] Vijay, where he thrust forward, defended and got out."
Ashwin's words seem to mirror his captain’s emotions who also dismissed pitch details in the lead-up to the Test. "When someone comes to play here, there is a lot of focus on the pitch," Kohli said. "It is unfair to say that it spins a lot or that it is slow. When we go abroad, I don't think there is a single article about the pitch. We go there and take up the challenge. The other teams also have to take up the challenge."
However, it is not entirely accurate that Indian players do not complain about perceived green tracks away from home. After India lost 4-0 in Australia, Gautam Gambhir and Kohli were two of the players to complain about the "green tops" while Australia scored heavily in every match.