Expect Mumbai Test to be full of runs with some assistance for the spinners

The India-England series was expected to be all about spin and that the Indians would unleash the spin ghosts from the pitches to haunt the English batsmen and force them into submission but that hasn’t been the case. Skipper Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble have been particular that they don’t want to earn the reputation of dishing out, rank turners and spinning the visiting teams out of play and thus we have seen sporting wickets in the series thus far.

While Rajkot was a batting beauty, the pitch at Vizag was good to bat on expect that the bounce was uneven which enhanced the challenge. Mohali too was a true surface and throughout the pacers have also had their chance to grab wickets with conventional and reverse swing. Despite that Team India has managed to take a 2-0 lead in the series while England have looked nowhere near a point where they could go for a win.

The idea has been to play on typical subcontinent wickets that are good for batting on the first couple of days, start turning by the third day and assist the slower bowlers on the last two days. Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the fourth Test starting December 8 and six days ahead of the start of the match it is reported that the Indian team management has instructed the curator to roll out a ‘bald’ pitch. The wicket at the moment has a bit of grass and it has been watered and rolled for the last few days.

As per reports the Wankhede wicket would be dry and will turn slow. It will continue to remain good for the batsmen and they will be able to score the runs once they get in. The nature of the wicket was quite evident in the first Ranji Trophy match that was played this season between Delhi and Maharashtra; as many as 1,283 runs were scored with two batsmen scoring triple hundreds.

After winning the third Test in Mohali skipper Kohli had said, “Even when we played in Kolkata (against New Zealand), we showed we are not a side that wants square turners. We have enough skill to play good cricket and win against any team and that’s the kind of belief we have created in the change room.

“And that can only happen when you are not worried about what’s happening outside that door. You focus on your skills and strengths and move along,”

The coach had also said that they are ready to play on any surface that is prepared and will not demand doctored wickets. “We are not making any demands for the pitch. We will play on the pitch that is on offer and we will enter the field thinking that our spinners are better when it comes to experience and quality,” he said.