Pitch expert tells MiD DAY that a patch on the wicket could help the Sri Lankan spinner
Things haven't gone Sri Lanka's way in the current Test series but they will be happy to play the last Test of the rubber in Mumbai. For, there's a big chance that the conditions at the Brabourne Stadium might be more to their liking than Ahmedabad and Kanpur, venues of the first two Tests.
Sri Lanka bank heavily on their spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan for inspiration and wickets. And the Brabourne Stadium wicket might turn out to be advantageous to the world's highest wicket-taker.
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"It doesn't look like the Wankhede track (where it helps the pacers). It is a slow wicket and won't have much bounce. The batsmen who show patience will do well," said the pitch expert, who did not wish to be named.
The Mumbai players, who played here recently also reckon it's a slow wicket. The slowness in the track will negate the spin threat. But according to the pitch expert, the cause for worry is a bald patch towards the Churchgate end. "If the bald patch breaks, then handling Muralitharan will be the key for the Indian batsmen," he said.
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GRIND! India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni wipes the sweat off his face at the Brabourne Stadium yesterday. pic/aFP |
Muralitharan has struggled so far to come to terms with the wickets in the series having taken just five wickets in four innings. Pitch prediction is risky business and looks can be deceptive. You never know how the surface will behave unless you bowl a ball, but Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara should be pleased to hear about this pitch report. Sangakkara's team knows India has an edge in that department with Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth in the home team's ranks compared to Chanaka Welegedara, Angelo Mathews and Dhamika Prasad.
The toss will be a crucial factor at Brabourne. The challenge to play spin will grow as the match progresses with the wear and tear of the wicket. And, it's not a good proposition to face Muralitharan's off-spin from the pavilion end.
The Sri Lankan camp is confident that their ace spinner will turn around things in this game, as he has always done for them in crunch situations.
The Indian batsmen have played Murali well so far. "But knowing him, he might come up with something new for this match. For all you know, he might win us this match," said Sri Lanka's shadow coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, who is very close to Murali, being his first captain in domestic cricket at Colombo's Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club.
From India's perspective, Harbhajan Singh will be the key performer. He rates Muralitharan as his hero. The performance of the two of the best exponents of off-spin bowling, could well turn out to be the decisive factor in the series decider
Trailing 0-1, the visitors are in a desperate situation and will go all out for their first win on Indian soil.
Brabourne looks all set to play host to a battle royale.
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