With skipper Pat Cummins and Steven Smith leading the way, at least half a dozen of the Australian contingent made a beeline to the centre of the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday, reserving their undivided attention for the craggy 22-yard strip swiftly uncovered for their perusal.  The unusual looking surface, with one horizontal strip closer to the batsman at both ends noticeably drier, has attracted plenty of debate, the general consensus being that the plethora of left-handers in the Australian top-seven—at least four, possibly five—will have their work cut out against India’s left-arm spinners.

Pitch-scrutiny is a particular topic of interest every time Australia or England travel to India. Generally helped along by conspiracy theories from the visiting media, they assume an alarming dimension even before a ball’s bowled, a tack fraught with potential for embarrassment as Australia found out in Ranchi six years back on a surface dismissed as a minefield, but which produced the only draw of the four-Test series.