Steyn asks for better pitches

If Sunday sees a result to the first Test, it will be a surprise to both the teams, who must have, more or less, accepted that this Test will end in a draw.

If Sunday sees a result to the first Test, it will be a surprise to both the teams, who must have, more or less, accepted that this Test will end in a draw.

South African pacer Dale Steyn sent out an appeal today that bowlers on both sides will agree upon. 8220;I hope the second Test offers a bit more for the bowlers. I know Indian or sub-continental conditions rarely do and it is difficult to bowl here.

8220;You8217;ve got to bowl teams out to win Tests and they those who8217;re preparing the track know that as well. So they8217;ve got to be able to prepare a wicket on which bowlers are able to pick 20 wickets,8221; Steyn said.

Earlier, before the start of the Test, Steyn8217;s partner-in-pace Makhaya Ntini too had mentioned that 8220;wickets need to be prepared in a manner where bowlers have a role to play.8221;

South Africa8217;s first innings total of 540 and India8217;s reply of 627 happened on a wicket that offered hardly any help to fast bowlers, medium pacers or spinners. The weather hasn8217;t helped the ball swing either. The next two venues in this three-Test series happen to be Ahmedabad and Kanpur, which are also seen as batsman-friendly pitches. The last Test match in Kanpur was between the the same teams, a match that ended in a dull draw, with both teams registering huge first innings totals. In Ahmedabad, a Test match was last played in 2005, when India beat a depleted Sri Lankan team.

The current series, however, should be different. With both teams competing for the No 2 spot in the ICC rankings, the least the bowlers from either side would expect is for the playing conditions to provide a balanced competition.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has repeatedly said they will prepare more sporting surfaces. That doesn8217;t seem to be happening right now.

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After his triple century, Virender Sehwag had joked that the 8220;pitch would crack only on the fifth day.8221;