Pitch looks like mud rolled together: Smith

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

Ranchi, March 15

Australia skipper Steve Smith has again stoked the pitch fire after labelling the Ranchi wicket for the third Test as “muddy” with low bounce. Smith expected it to be no better than the Pune and Bengaluru pitches, which were termed “poor” and “below average”, respectively, by ICC match referee Chris Broad.

“I have never seen a wicket that’s looked quite as dark as that one is,” Smith told Cricket Australia website. “It looks like there’s mud sort of rolled together. We have played on some difficult wickets in the first two games. We have played some pretty good cricket and are confident that we can play with whatever this wicket does,” he added.

On Wednesday morning, the first thing that Smith and Australia’s chief coach Darren Lehmann did after arriving at the stadium was to have a closer look at the wicket, which looked a lot more drier than it was the previous day.

“When we came to India, we knew that we were going to get difficult wickets to play on. And the first two Tests were pretty tough wickets. This wicket is no different either. I think on the first day, it will hold together reasonably well and then start to break up. I don’t think there will be a great deal of bounce, and it’ll break up as the game wears on,” Smith said.

Not a pitch reader: Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli, however, refused to delve too much into the Ranchi wicket and said he hadn’t seen a cricketer who could predict the outcome on the basis of the pitch analysis. “I think it’s hard to assess how much it will turn or seam. That’s why it’s said that cricket is a complicated sport. You have to be always prepared. Test cricket is more about the mental aspect. Teams who are mentally strong on that sort of wicket… it takes special effort to provide the difference in the game.”

The skipper added that external factors also played a role in a pitch’s behaviour. “A lot of things, including weather, go behind how a pitch would behave. In hot and humid conditions, we get reverse swing. It’s not just the wicket but external conditions also play a role.”