I don’t think the Indian bowling attack is strong…..therefore I think these pitches are being made: Sunil Gavaskar

Having retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth consecutive time having won the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, India were bested by Australia in the third meeting in Indore, leaving the series at 2-1 going into the final Test.

Rohit Sharma walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal and Cheteshwar Pujara is bowled out at Indore. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

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Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the primary reason behind India opting for rank turners, pitches that have induced Tests that have concluded in less than three days time, is owing to the absence of a strong pace attack.

“Taking 20 wickets is not going to be easy in India. On a lot of Indian pitches, without your ace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami and a slightly inexperienced Mohammed Siraj, I don’t think that bowling attack is such (strong). But with a little bit of help from a dry pitch, India can probably take 20 wickets. I think that is the thinking behind preparing such pitches,” Gavaskar told India Today.

Jasprit Bumrah has been been out of action since the India-Australia T20 series last September and per The Indian Express is set to miss the entirety of IPL 2023 as well as the World Test Championship Final.

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Gavaskar further added, “For India to reach the World Test Championship Final, they did not have any other options (than producing turning tracks). If you would have had a strong attack, maybe you could have done something different but your strength is your spinners and therefore I think these pitches are being made. You do not want a flat pitch where the batters go out and dominate. These pitches are testing the temperament of the batters.”

Having retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth consecutive time having won the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, India were bested by Australia in the third meeting in Indore, leaving the series at 2-1 going into the final Test.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, India bundled out for 109 on day one before Australia secured an 88 run lead in the first innings.

In the second innings, the hosts only managed to score 163, giving the visitors only 76 runs to chase, which they did early in the first session on day three with nine wickets in hand.

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