India v Australia: Ranchi pitch to be a square turner from first over

The Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) Stadium at Ranchi is all set to become the 26th Test venue in India. The stadium will host the third Test of the ongoing four match Test series between India and Australia. The match commences on March 15 with both sides looking equally balanced at this stage of the series.

As per the recent reports in Sportskeeda, the pitch at Ranchi is expected to be rank turner right from the very first day. There are also reports about former Indian skipper MS Dhoni taking a close inspection of the track to ensure that the preparations for the Test are well on course.

The JSCA Secretary, Mr. Debashish Chakrabarty, had confirmed the same when he noted that Dhoni was very cautious and curious about the nature of the pitch being prepared for the Test. The pitch curator SB Singh had three tracks ready. Apparently, one of the tracks was a green surface, the second had moderate covering of grass and third one had absolutely no grass on it.

Thus, it was evident that the third track would be the most suited one for the spinners and as per the reports, the team management has opted for the third track. While this might sound like a good prospect for the fans, there is also a risk that the match might fare up as it did in Pune. The track at Pune spun viciously and the move had backfired as India lost the match by 333 runs. Also, with the match ending in just 3 days, the ICC had later deemed the track as ‘poor’.

On the other hand, the track at Bengaluru was not a rank turner but the Indian team performed much better with the spinners outplaying the opposition numbers as the match progressed. It will be worth watching how the match fares up as the series stands leveled at 1-1. The team winning the toss will definitely look to bat first.