India vs Australia 2017: Indore wicket will be a belter and assist spin, says curator
What's the story?
After making the Australian batsmen dance to their tunes, Indian wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will receive a major boost ahead of the third ODI as the wicket prepared at the Holkar Stadium will assist spin.
The pitch curator at the venue, Samandar Singh Chauhan, said that the wicket would offer a lot of runs but at the same time, take spin and assist the spinners. He also conceded that the pitch would not crumble and hence only the wrist-spinners would be able to make an impact.
"We have used black cotton soil, brought from different parts of Madhya Pradesh. In this weather, it won't crumble and it won't be very dry. It has the capacity to hold water but it will be good for the wrist-spinners. We had used this pitch for a two-day match between our Ranji teams. Ninety overs were bowled on both days on September 7 and 8 and good runs were scored. It should be a high-scoring game," Chauhan said.
In case you didn't know...
The Australian team were completely outplayed by India in the first two matches as the Indian spinners tormented them by taking 10 out of the 20 wickets.
Australia have their batsmen to blame as their fast bowlers did a pretty decent job in the first two matches.
The details
Chennai and Kolkata, the venues for the first two matches, experienced heavy rainfall before the start of the respective matches and the case is no different with Indore as the city has been on the rain god's radar over the last few days. Moreover, the forecast for the next couple of days is not encouraging.
But, the venue has a strong drainage system in place and according to Chauhan, the ground staff of 80 people can get the field ready for play in an hour even after a strong spell of rain.
What's next?
Irrespective of the nature of the wicket, Australia have to go out and win the third ODI to stay alive in the series. A loss would give India an unassailable lead.
Author's take
Australia have been vulnerable to spin and it has been evident from their performances in the sub-continent over the last 18 months. The batsmen have to step up big time for their side to have a chance in the series and the way they are batting against the Indian spinners, Steve Smith and co. have to play out of their skin to win a match.