News Analysis
Two days out from the second Test in Guwahati and, truth be told, no-one sounds entirely sure how the Barsapara pitch will play. What can be seen, though, is a strip of red soil under a light layer of grass. It was watered on Thursday and will lose a bit more grass before the toss, grounds staff say. Red soil usually offers bounce at the start, then breaks up and assists spin late on – the template India have often asked for. Yet memories of Kolkata, where the match ended inside three days on a surface with vicious, uneven bounce, are hard to shake.
“Gambhir took the blame because he felt curators should not be blamed.” That line from batting coach Sitanshu Kotak sums up the mood. Four days earlier head coach Gautam Gambhir had said India got “exactly the pitch we were looking for” and that Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee had been “very, very helpful”. The Test was over almost before it began, South Africa 1-0 up, and fingers were pointed everywhere. Kotak insists Gambhir’s public praise was a smokescreen.
“When Gautam came for the press conference after the match and took all the blame on himself — he said we had asked for [that pitch] — he did that because he felt the curators shouldn’t be blamed,” Kotak said. “[…] Every country plays to their strengths. In India that is spin. Ever since I’ve come in, every time, we have the same conversation, that the Test match should go on for four days, four-and-a-half days. All we want is a bit of spin [in the pitch], because spin is our strength.”
Kotak was still animated when describing how the Eden surface disintegrated. “[…] What happened in the last match, after the first day, you could see that [the pitch] was crumbling, a bit of soil was coming [off the surface]. That wasn’t expected. Even if we had expected that much spin, it was after the third day, or on the evening of the third day. Even the curator didn’t want this. No one wanted what happened.”
And his diagnosis: “From the second day, whether the wicket became too dry, or whether — and this is my reading — the top layer became too dry, and the underneath layer was very hard because there was a lot of rolling, and [the pitch behaved as it did] because of this. You can ask the curator, or ask anyone — no one asked for a match that would end in two days, or for square turn.”
Those comments track with whispers from the Eden outfield: the surface apparently missed scheduled watering in the build-up, producing a dry crust that gave way the moment pace bowlers dug in a length. Left alone, that can happen with some Indian black-soil pitches, but not usually with red soil, which has more clay, more bounce and often holds together longer. Hence the hope that Guwahati’s red base will perform more predictably.
Still, there are complications. This is Barsapara’s first Test, so there is no bank of data. Play starts at 9.30am local time – half an hour earlier than Kolkata – because fading light is common in the late afternoon. That increases the chance of moisture helping seamers early and raises the value of winning the toss. A humid November morning in Assam can keep the surface tacky through the first session, only drying once the sun gets higher. Any grass left on could exaggerate that. Experienced campaigners such as Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Shami will have noted it already.
India’s camp, wounded from the innings defeat, appear to want insurance rather than another lottery. A two-spinner attack, plus Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and the all-rounder, feels the likely balance. South Africa are expected to stick with three quicks and Keshav Maharaj. Both sides will watch Friday’s final preparation closely; a heavy trim would point to more turn, a green tinge left on might even tempt a four-seamer gamble.
Around the ground the conversation is less technical. Assam has waited decades for a Test; tickets have sold briskly despite weekday play. Local organisers fear a two-day finish would dent goodwill. As one official put it, only half-joking, “We want five days of tea, samosas and crowds.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is said to have reminded state associations that matches finishing in a session-and-a-half look bad on television. Few expect a flat road – that would hand South Africa’s quicker bowlers the new ball for longer spells – but a contest that runs into at least day four would ease pressure on everyone from administrators to curators.
So, what type of pitch will India want in Guwahati? In simple terms, a fair one: a surface with pace up top, grip for spinners from about tea on day two and, above all, no demons leaping from cracks on the good-length spot. Whether they get it remains uncertain. As Kotak quietly conceded, intentions and reality are not always the same – something both teams learned the hard way in Kolkata.
