Indian National Cricket Team they required a grade turner surface for the third Test of the three matches series Against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
Rohit Sharma’s India will lock horns with Tom Latham’s New Zealand in the third Test match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from Friday, November 1.
India struggled against New Zealand pacers in the 1st Test
The opening match of the Test series between India and New Zealand was played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and the home team failed in the first innings.
Against William O’Rourke, those fighting in sailor-friendly conditions seemed completely clueless. Matt Henryand Tim Southee and the hosts piled on for 46 runs.
In the subsequent innings, when conditions were met, the Rohit Sharma-led side fared better. Sarfaraz Khan smashed a brilliant 150 runs and Rishabh Pant smashed a sensational 99 runs.
Virat Kohli played a brilliant innings of 70 runs and Rohit Sharma smashed 52 runs as the hosts posted a decent total of 462 runs on the board to set a target of 107 runs for the Kiwis. The Black Caps chased down the low target with ease and won the match by 8 wickets.
Mitchell Santner destroys Rohit Sharma & Co in Pune Test
In the second Test played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, the Indian batsmen once again struggled badly, but this time against the spinners.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner has been a nightmare for batsmen as he bowls exceptional lines and lengths. The left-arm spinner took wickets at regular intervals and bowled out the opposition for 156 in 45.3 overs.
Mitchell Santner Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deepand jasprit bumrah Finishing with a career-best 7 for 53 and helping New Zealand lead by 103 runs.
Santner didn’t stop there, he hit Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin for sixes in the second innings. His stunning performance helped New Zealand win the match and clinch a historic Test series victory.
It will be a rank turner pitch – Source IND vs NZ 3rd Test pitch
According to a recent report by the Indian Express, the Indian team management has requested the Mumbai Cricket Association for a “ranked spinner” for the third over despite the batsmen’s fight against cheaters.
“It will be a rank turner field. The team management asked from Day 1 to prepare a pitch that could help the spinners. It seems the team wants to go with a tried and tested formula,” a source told The Indian Express.
The spin and bounce batsmen are likely to find conditions very difficult on the Mumbai surface. If there is uneven bounce on the pitch, there is a high probability that the match will end early.
The likes of Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will enjoy bowling on the track and trouble the Kiwis. However, the New Zealand spinners will also be a major threat to the home team’s batting.
