Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Monday (February 15) shared his two cents on the raging debate over the Chennai pitch for the second Test between India and England.
While Rohit Sharma slammed an extraordinary century (161) on the opening day on a wearing track, the second day’s play saw teams losing 15 wickets between them.
Off-spinner Ravichandra Ashwin claimed 5 for 43 as India bowled out England for a paltry 134 to take a massive first-innings lead of 195 runs.
Speaking on Star Sports before the start of play on Day 3, Gavaskar involved in a debate with former England batsman Mark Butcher on the pitch and cited Rohit’s example to prove his point that the deck is not unplayable.
"We saw how Rohit Sharma getting 150, and yesterday he was getting close to ball and batting. This criticism (on pitch) is pretty warranted," Gavaskar said.
"Few people trying to make the point no matter who is on top, the ball should not be going through the top of the surface from Day 1 of a Test match. Is that what the tweets are about?" Mark Butcher intervened.
"Some of them are saying that - but you have a seaming pitch in England. Australia get dismissed for 46 - the ball keeps seaming all throughout. No one talks about that. It's always about Indian pitches, and when the ball starts to turn, people pose a problem," Gavaskar said.
"Australians do moan about that a lot, I admit," Butcher said.
"Yes. One or two who we know who don't like India, who don't like England, so they always be having a go at India and England, so that's fine. We ignore them because we know the double standards. But basically, we saw with Rohit Sharma's innings, if pitch was impossible, nobody would have scored 330," Gavaskar said.
"It's not unplayable. It's a challenging pitch, and that's what cricket should be about. In the first Test, on the first two days, when nothing was happening, people were saying 'it's boring, nothing is happening. It's so easy to bat.' So, there has to be a bit of balance between what is said. You cannot be complaining all the time," Gavaskar further remarked.
"There are some who are forever complaining about this, that or the other. Yes, it's a challenging pitch. Rohit Sharma showed in the first innings. More than that, in the 2nd innings, after England have been bowled out for 134, Rohit showed no discomfort against England spinners.
"You can argue that maybe England spinners are not as good as Ashwin. That they did not bowl the lines and length that Ashwin or Axar did. But you have to also argue that who has got the better technique when it comes to batting and who has the better skills when it comes to bowling. That really should be the debate rather than the pitch," Gavaskar concluded.
The third day’s play saw India losing five wickets in the first session. The hosts were at 156/6 with skipper Virat Kohli batting on 38* and R Ashwin 34* till the Lunch break.
