Yet another turning track awaits Cook’s England in Mohali

While the cooler temperatures of Mohali would certainly give Alastair Cook’s England a much-needed respite from the toiling heat and humidity of Vizag, the track is expected to offer much more turn compared to the one they received in Vishakapatnam. Evidence of the same can be found in the fact that the similar wicket was used when South Africa came on the tour and also was compounded when they were spun out by Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

However, at the time, Ravi Shastri was the Team Director of the Indian cricket team and has also now revealed that he had requested the curator to make the track a dry and spin-friendly one. However, this time around, in his avatar as a commentator, Shastri stated that the England bowlers would get a bit of respite given the fact that the conditions are a bit cooler, to say the least.

“Yes, I had asked for it,” Shastri said. “But I would like to think we will get a better pitch this time. It will be much cooler there and the seamers usually get some help in the mornings and evenings,” he said. “But it is not easy to come back from a match down in the sub-continent, even though England did it the last time they were here.”

Virat Kohli, the skipper of the Indian team also went on to reiterate that the same stating that they would not take England lightly. “England is a side we do not take for granted,” Kohli said. “We understand they have quality players who have played a lot of cricket. You expect them to show resilience, character, and fight.

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“We know the ability they have, but we are not thinking of the past. We are not a side that thinks of what happened the last time they came to India or what happened the last time we went to England.

“We believe in our abilities more than we analyze the opposition. That’s been our strength over the past 12-14 months.”