India vs Australia, 2nd ODI: Grass is greener at Eden Gardens

The Eden pitch has changed its character after the whole centre square was re-laid in the lead-up to the World T20 last year. (Source: PTI)

After two days of rain and gloom, as the sun started playing peek-a-boo around Wednesday mid-morning and the Eden Gardens ground staff began rolling up the pitch covers, the green tinge on the pitch became discernible even from the upper tier of the Club House.

The Australian team had arrived for their pre-match practice session and although the outfield was still too damp to allow any action, the visitors had a good look at the wicket before heading toward the CAB indoors.

About an hour and a half later, when Steve Smith turned up for press conference, he could barely conceal his surprise. “(The grass) is probably more than I have seen in India for a while,” said the Australia captain, with a note of caution: “I will have another look tomorrow, see what the weather is doing, see if there are any changes to the wicket. The curator might roll it a bit more or cut it.”

Smith would be delighted to know that the grass is likely to stay, offering some lateral movement to fast bowlers early on. The surface might be a little sluggish with variable bounce because of sweating and the moisture underneath. But bottom line is that the pitch might allow Australia to play to their strength; pace.

Twelve years ago, then CAB curator Prabir Mukherjee had laid out a green-top at this venue for an ODI against South Africa. India were bundled out for 188 against Shaun Pollock and company, and the Saffers won the game by 10 wickets with 14.1 overs to spare. The grassy pitch was supposedly Mukherjee’s response to Sourav Ganguly’s ouster from the Indian team under Greg Chappell.

Ganguly is now the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president and a popular theory here surrounding the pitch this time hinted at a reported ego tussle between him and Team India head coach Ravi Shastri. But the fact of the matter is that a green pitch is certainly not a carry-over effect of the reported differences between the two former India captains.

The Eden pitch has changed its character after the whole centre square was re-laid in the lead-up to the World T20 last year. “Now you require a certain amount of grass on the pitch every time. Otherwise, the top soil would disintegrate,” explained a ground staff.

The Test against New Zealand played from September 30 to October 3 last year was an example. India won by 178 runs in a low-scoring affair. Fast bowlers accounted for 26 scalps both teams combined. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a five-for in New Zealand’s first innings.

Seamers revelled in friendly conditions in the Ranji Trophy as well, with teams struggling to put up 200-plus totals.

In an IPL match here this term, the fabled Royal Challengers Bangalore batting had folded for 49 inside 10 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders’ pace, with Coulter-Nile, Chris Woakes and Colin de Grandhomme taking three wickets apiece.

Australia have won only one of their last 10 ODIs overseas, against Ireland. On the face of it, Eden pitch provides them with an opportunity to improve their record and level the ongoing series. In Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile they have two excellent fast bowlers who used the extra bounce at Chepauk brilliantly, bowling in the corridor. Coulter-Nile’s three wickets upfront rattled the Indian top order.

Then again, from 87 for five, the hosts recovered to post 281 for seven in 50 overs, which attested their batting depth. Also, India have enough fast-bowling wherewithal to put the opposition under pressure. Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah’s current form is keeping even the likes of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav in the reserve bench. Most importantly, this Indian team doesn’t get intimidated by green-tops.

Australia rather have some batting problems to solve. The Test loss against Bangladesh highlighted their travails against spin. And in Chennai, they lost nine wickets in 21 overs in a truncated game. A top-heavy batting lineup on paper, heavily dependent on David Warner and Smith and bereft of a settled No. 4 – doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Smith’s milestone

Smith would play his 100th ODI on Thursday and he spoke about his evolution as a white-ball cricketer. “I think I have evolved a lot as a white-ball player. When I first started playing one-day cricket, my first 30-odd games, I played more as a bowler. I had to change a bit there. I have been batting at No.3 for a while now. I had to find the right tempo for the game, whether it’s hitting boundaries or finding the right time to hit a boundary. You learn as you play.”

The Aussie skipper, however, has only one half-century — 56 against England at Birmingham in June — in his last five ODI innings. But as Kuldeep Yadav said, Smith is still the toughest to bowl at. “He (Smith) reads you well. He has idea about (getting) singles. He prefers to play around leg stump,” the young chinaman bowler observed.

India, too, don’t have a settled No. 4 and the team management is now backing Manish Pandey for the slot. But having Virat Kohli at No.3 and a rejuvenated MS Dhoni down the order, is a big advantage. Both raise their game in adverse conditions; when the team is under pressure.

If the wicket stays seamer-friendly, the second ODI on Thursday could well be a fascinating contest between two great modern era batsmen – Smith and Kohli.

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