All eyes will be on the Narendra Modi Stadium for the fourth Test in BGT Series
After winning the first two Tests, the swagger is missing. The body language is now poor. All talk is on the pitch, and how will it be prepared, spin seems to be out of the syllabus for the Indian batters.
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IND vs AUS
It is fitting that the stadium named after the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will himself be watching the action on Day 1 of the fourth Test in the BGT Series in Ahmedabad. The Indian Prime Minister and the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, will be sitting together and watch, in all probability, Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith lead the two teams from March 9.
There are ifs and butts if Pat Cummins will fly back for the fourth Test, which looks unlikely. For his part, stand-in skipper Steve Smith has made it clear, he is only doing a part-time job. He did a great job of it in the Indore Test, which has lit up the series, again. Cricket and diplomacy are not alien to each other. The renovated and refurbished Narendra Modi Stadium on the outskirts of the Capital of Gujarat, inaugurated in 2021, at Motera, is a sheer delight.
The 360-degree viewing is real and from any position, you can get a clear view of the action. The way it has been built is ultra-modern, with a capacity of 1,30,000 plus. Considering the hype the series has received, the fourth Test should be gripping, in every sense. Both the teams will be aware, being watched by their respective national leaders, is special.
On the field, there are no niceties. Indore saw how the Aussies bounced back. sniffing out the Indian challenge well before the lunch session on Day 3. They have now booked their berth in the ICC Test Championship final to be held in June in England. India have to win the fourth Test, failing which they will have to wait for the outcome of the two-Test series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Recently, the Kiwis stopped England in a breathtaking Test.
Rohit flopped, Cheteshwar Pujara fought, middle order collapsed, Indian batsmen need to perform much better in fourth BGT Test
There are problems galore for Indian captain Rohit Sharma. His recent press conference comments have been in poor taste and his reference to spin being India’s best bet has been blown to smithereens by the Aussies. Back to the Narendra Modi Stadium, a visual delight, two Tests were played between India and England in 2021, when the Covid pandemic was at its peak. The contests at that time were played in a Bio Bubble. Axar Patel was then the star bowler. In 2022, the same stadium saw IPL action.
Nowadays, you cannot intimidate the Aussies. They play spin far better than the Indian batters and their own spinners, led by Nathan Lyon, have dominated the series. It was interesting to read, before, how the Indian captain Rohit could ask the curators to prepare a track with a green tinge! Well, that may have been possible had India won the third Test and there were no doubts over India entering the ICC Test finals.
Conditions in Ahmedabad are hot, 36 degrees Celsius plus. The wicket is under preparation and it cannot be underprepared. After Indore was described in the most pathetic terms and castigated by the ICC, the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium has to be better. There is one school of thought which feels as Indians are primarily using three spinners, one pacer can be dropped and Surya Kumar Yadav can be included.
Before the third Test, the banter was over KL Rahul. He was dropped but the man who came in, Shubman Gill did not click. Rohit flopped, Cheteshwar Pujara fought, and the middle order collapsed. Overall, the Indian batting needs to perform much better. Till now, it has looked brittle and former India captain Virat Kohli, not in the form he is known for, has sought divine intervention again. On Saturday, Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma visited the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain, not too far from Indore, around 55 km. Kohli and Team India need blessings from Divine Forces.
After winning the first two Tests, the swagger is missing. The body language is now poor. All talk is on the pitch, and how will it be prepared, spin seems to be out of the syllabus for the Indian batters. The acid test, is definitely, for Team India from March 9. That is a day after Holi.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)