‘Tampering’ with pitch is creating more problems for Team India than envisioned

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After the Bengaluru Test, where India’s lineup was caught off-guard by the seam and bounce, Indian captain Rohit Sharma had requested a pitch adjustment in Pune to limit the bounce, sources told CricBlogger. This led to a low-bounce pitch with occasional, unpredictable movement and proved tricky in its own way in Pune. While the intention might have been to counteract New Zealand’s strength in exploiting bounce, the uneven nature of the Pune surface introduced a new challenge that the Indian batters couldn’t quite adapt to.

Getting bowled out for just 46 in Bengaluru highlighted India’s difficulty with steep bounce, and the slight unevenness in Pune made consistent scoring tough, disrupting the team’s rhythm and control over the game. This series reveals a few key takeaways for the Indian team: flexibility in adapting to varied conditions, building more resilience against bounce and seam, and perhaps a need to rethink strategies based on pitch expectations.

India’s approach of ‘influencing’ pitch conditions to favor their strengths seems to have backfired in this series. Being bowled out for 156 in reply to New Zealand’s 259, and facing a daunting lead of 301 runs by the end of Day II, explains the challenge. Despite ICC’s push for neutral, balanced pitches, it’s common for home teams to give guidance to curators, aiming to craft conditions that align with their players’ strengths. However, in this case, it appears the tactic has become counterproductive.

By attempting to curb bounce and seam movement, India may have inadvertently created surfaces that are inconsistent, spin friendly and unpredictable— conditions that New Zealand’s bowlers capitalized on. This series serves as a reminder that relying on pitch manipulation instead of focusing on adaptable skills can be risky. For future matches, a more balanced approach could help the team build the resilience needed to perform in varied conditions, both at home and abroad.

The same approach under Rahul Dravid, focusing on balanced pitches with something for everyone—batters, pacers, and spinners—offered more predictability and allowed India to better prepare for all conditions. With predictable surfaces, the team could build confidence, knowing they’d face standard challenges rather than extreme conditions.

However, India’s recent struggle to handle swing and spin on these less predictable surfaces is becoming evident. Having grown accustomed to flat decks, any deviation—whether lateral movement for seamers or extra turn for spinners—has been testing the team’s adaptability and technique. This reliance on familiar conditions makes even moderate deviation seem more challenging.

If India is to succeed consistently, both at home and away, players will need to be comfortable against all types of movement and conditions. Building these skills will require more exposure to varied surfaces rather than overly customized pitches, making adaptability a core focus in their preparations.