Green signal

Rohit Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Nagpur, November 23

Virat Kohli’s frankness is quite astounding. Today he had the guts to admit something no other Indian captain has admitted, not in living memory at least. He accepted that the team has asked for a certain kind of wickets for this series.

It’s not a secret, really. Home teams seek wickets that expose the weaknesses of the visiting team. It’s true for all countries, all teams, all captains. But no captain admits he’s played a role in determining the nature of the wicket. But Kohli didn’t blink an eyelid when asked about it. He said the team wanted wickets that would help it prepare for the series in South Africa, where the first Test begins in the first week of January.

“Yes, because unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over,” Kohli said, confirming the team had sought pace-friendly wickets against Sri Lanka. “We have no choice but be in game situation and think of what’s coming ahead of us.”

Greenish wicket

Thus the grass is greener on the Nagpur wicket than ever before. The track was sprayed with water several times during the day, then covered with layers of mats so that the sun didn’t singe the grass. The mats were removed after the sun dipped behind the huge stands. The curator, Pravin Hignikar, is following the instructions to the T — the wicket will seam, though not like Kolkata. Kolkata had a burst of heavy rains, Nagpur is dry land.

Kohli said that beneath the grass, the wicket is quite hard. He expects the ball to both rise and move off the seam. “So, the fast bowlers should be in play for the first couple of days, for sure, because of the bounce and nice carry off it as well,” Kohli said. “From there on, the spinners will come into play. It is a pretty good wicket for overall Test cricket, I feel.”

This game

India’s three seamers had picked up all 17 Sri Lankan wickets in Kolkata, and the spinners were non-actors. There’s one vital difference — the spin didn’t become a factor at all in Kolkata because there was little wear and tear of the wicket. By the start of the fifth day, only 182.3 overs had been bowled — in terms of the overs bowled, that was merely a 2-day-old wicket. Here, Kohli believes, there will be turn from the third day onward. The original nature of this wicket, which has been either a slow or a sharp turner, will come to the fore then, believes Kohli. It’s never been a haven for pace. 

Bhuvi, Dhawan absent

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India’s best pacer in Kolkata, gets married tonight. Ishant Sharma, the bridesmaid waiting in the wings in Kolkata before being released by the management, should replace him in the XI. Shikhar Dhawan, also on official leave, will be replaced by Murali Vijay.

What about Vijay Shankar, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder? He was named in the squad as Bhuvneshwar’s replacement. It’s difficult to see him getting a game here: He’s not been in sensational form in recent times, with six wickets and 118 runs in three Ranji Trophy matches. Kohli said the team wants to groom emerging all-rounders. “We need to find out more people (apart from Hardik Pandya) who have that capability and whom we can groom as back-ups for the all-rounder’s slot, which is very, very crucial for us when we travel abroad,” Kohli said. “That is the whole idea of bringing him (Vijay) in …”

Right, so Vijay is in the squad with the idea of grooming an all-rounder for overseas tours.

View from Lanka

Oh, India are playing Sri Lanka in this series, in case you forgot. It’s easy to forget Sri Lanka, so dominant has been the narrative of preparing for South Africa.

Dinesh Chandimal, the captain, would have mixed feelings about Kolkata. They dominated the game until the fourth afternoon, but ended up in a desperate fight of survival. He said the team will go for a win here too. “We have looked at a six-five (6 batsmen, five bowlers) combination, or six-four plus all-rounder,” Chandimal said. “We have come here with a mindset to win a Test match.”

India have come here looking for a win, too — a win in Cape Town or Johannesburg.