The main focus in a Test match involving India is always the pitch and nothing has changed in the lead-up to their first Test against Australia in Perth at the Optus Stadium. The first look of the 22 yards on offer for the series opener has been revealed and it isn’t a good sign for the Indian team at all.
There is a lot of grass on the surface which is unlikely to be shaved off completely to retain the fast and bouncy nature of the surface. Australia have quicks like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood who can dominate the opposition with their pace, alongside line and length. The batters’ technique will be challenged right through the five days of the Test and the bounce could be one thing that they will have to tackle smartly.
In fact, the visitors seem to be expecting similar conditions as they replicated a similar scenario in the match simulation at the WACA ahead of the first Test. The batters were made to face a lot of short-of-the-length deliveries and bouncers even as Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant among others looked uncomfortable at times.
Moreover, KL Rahul was hit on the arm as well in a massive injury scare for the visitors but the batter, after a day’s rest, had a good session in the nets brushing aside any injury concerns.
The Western Australia Crickets head curator Isaac McDonald had earlier made it clear that the pitch would have good pace, bounce and carry. He also stated that 10mm of live grass will be left on the surface to retain the speed of the red cherry. “This is Australia, this is Perth… I’m setting ourselves up for a really good pace, really good bounce and really good carry.
“It’s [10 mm] a good starting point. Ten millimetres was pretty comfortable with the conditions that we had [last year] and that held the conditions together nicely for the first few days. Live grass on the pitch is speed,” McDonald had said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo last week.