ANY Test series in India invariably takes the spotlight on the pitches. The surfaces raise too much tension in the cricketing world. On most occasions, the pitch becomes a deadly object for the visiting teams as they look at the rectangular surface with fear and trepidation. The resultant heat and dust the pitches raise soon become part of a larger debate in the fraternity even as the non-subcontinent teams spell out their one-sided reservation for home advantage. A similar debate is set to unfold soon after the three-day finish to the first Test between India and South Africa at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match between the World Test Champs and their equal challengers has been overshadowed by the questions about the pitch on offer. Both the teams failed to cross 200 runs while wickets fell in a heap, ending the supposed thriller in only three days. Spin did dominate the proceedings, much to the discomfort of the visiting Proteas but not before the pacers led by the iconic Jasprit Bumrah showed his class yet again. He is just not bothered by the pitch anymore.

 

He has the wares and ability to extract something special from any surface. Yet, Bumrah’s five-wicket haul will not be talked as much as the turning ball will trigger a discussion in the coming days. Even before the start of the game the talk had revolved around a contest between the home spinners and visiting spinners. It should not be a problem for anybody if India play their strength in their home conditions. Spin has remained the most potent weapon for India over the years. Despite the setback of last year when they lost a rare home series to New Zealand, India were bound to choose spin-friendly tracks for the South Africans. It has to be the right of the home team to play to its strength. India have faced similar issues on pacer-friendly wickets overseas but have never complained about the pitches. Same response is expected now from the visiting teams.

 

The point of debate must not be restricted to the use of spin as a weapon. A larger issue needs to be discussed about the nature of such spin-friendly pitches. They cannot be overtly in favour of spinners where even a part-timer gets exaggerated turn while the batsmen are left to their luck due to uneven bounce. A pitch cannot turn into an object of a two-day, three-day shoot-out. The game of Test does not need such an advertisement where early finishes take the thrill out of the game. Especially coming on the back of the exciting Test series between India and England where all matches went into the fifth day, the first Test in Kolkata has come as a sudden disruption. The longest format of the game needs such kind of classicism to thrive in the age of Twenty20 cricket. A good pitch, of course handing the home team its advantage, is an essential ingredient of classicism.