Australia’s faltering campaign in India has taken another turn for the worse with the third Test poised to be moved from the venue expected to best suit fast bowling.
There are multiple reports in Indian media that the match will be relocated from the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala due to concerns over the state of the outfield. The venue, with the snow-capped Himalayas in the background, was scheduled to stage the third Test, from March 1-5.
There were also dramas over the schedule in the last series between the two countries in Australia in 2020/21 when India threatened to boycott the Gabba Test over concerns about Queensland’s COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.
Australian captain Pat Cummins removes the cover to inspect the pitch ahead of the first cricket in Nagpur, India. Credit:
The decision was reportedly made on Sunday after an inspection of the ground by a team of BCCI officials.
There are several bare patches on the playing surface, relaid last year to fit in a new drainage system.
As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age over the weekend, a source familiar with the issue said foggy conditions in the town, located at an altitude of 1451 metres, meant there had been insufficient sunlight for grass to grow.
While skipper Pat Cummins has told his team “embracing the chaos” was part of what made tours to India so special, there seems to be a new twist every day in this campaign.
On Sunday, Australia’s plans to conduct centre-wicket practice on a fourth-day Test pitch at the VCA Stadium were scuppered because ground staff had watered the pitch and the training nets, despite having granted them permission to use them. The session was cancelled.
The cold weather in Dharamsala, where temperatures often dip into single figures at this time of year, would have made it difficult for curators to prepare a dry spin-friendly pitch to suit India’s strengths.
Pace played a significant part when Australia played there in 2017 at the venue’s only Test when India speedster Umesh Yadav produced a burst with the new ball to run through the visitors’ top order.
In his 2017 autobiography The Journey, then captain Steve Smith wrote that the pitch had pace and bounce and was the “best pitch of the lot”.
Australia’s quest to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy started in disastrous fashion with an innings defeat in Nagpur. Only three Australian sides have come from 1-0 down in the past 100 years to win a series.
