Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh recently grabbed the headlines over his criticism on Ahmedabad pitch served for the third Test between India and England.
See Also: "I didn’t find it anything wrong" - R Ashwin on Yuvraj Singh's tweet
The Day-Night Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium finished inside two days with the hosts winning it by 10 wickets. England were bowled out for 112 and 81, while India scored 145 in the first innings before chasing a 49-run target without any hiccup.
After the game, Yuvraj had tweeted: “Finished in 2 days Not sure if that’s good for test cricket! If @anilkumble1074 and @harbhajan_singh bowled on these kinds of wickets they would be sitting on a thousand and 800.”
Reacting to Yuvraj’s tweet, ex-India opener Gautam Gambhir on Monday (March 1) said even if the pitch wasn’t assisting them, Kumble and Harbhajan would have ended up with that many Test wickets had DRS been there in the game.
“Yes, wickets are different today but DRS today plays a huge role. Had there been DRS when Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh was bowling, Kumble would have gone to 1000 wickets and Harbhajan would have got around 700 wickets because DRS plays a massive role especially in India where there are lot of inside edges, or bat pads and stuff,” Gambhir said on the ‘Runorder’ show on ESPNCricinfo.
28 of the 30 wickets to fall in the Ahmedabad Test were taken by spinners. India’s Akshar Patel and R Ashwin claimed 18 scalps between them.
According to Gambhir, however, it wasn’t the Indian spinners’ fault that the pitch was assisting them.
In fact, he believes someone like Ashwin is under more pressure to deliver on such tracks.
“From that point of view, I do agree with Yuvraj Singh, but from the point of view that had they played on these kinds of pitches, probably not. Because see, wickets have been the same for everyone. Ashwin doesn’t ask for these kinds of wickets, it’s the team management that asks for it. And when you prepare such wickets, Ashwin is under more pressure to deliver,” he remarked.
Ahmedabad will also host the fourth and final Test, starting Thursday (March 4).
