Smiling sheepishly, Ajaz Patel apologized: “Sorry, I have a really bad memory. I don’t really remember that stadium.” The ground where he has taken all ten wickets in the last three years, the 22-year-old has defined his life. One thing he remembers is that it “looked very dry.” But he dismisses this warning: “We still have two days before the game. So it will change in the next few days. You know that red dirt is going to give you a little more speed and a little bit of push and it’s definitely going to turn, it’s just a matter of when.”
On the last point depends the fate of many games in the subcontinent – when it will start to turn. From the first ball of the match or on the third or fourth day. How much it can turn, whether it turns square, whether the variable bounce can kick, or whether it can be a lottery wicket where bowlers, even part-timers, just come in and reap the rich produce. Adding to this subtlety, Wankhede has seen all kinds, from the devil’s dustbowl where Michael Clarke took six wickets for nine runs in 2004 to the mellowed-more turner where England stumbled on the fourth and fifth day in 2016 . Sky-risers are raised it— two hundred and six points and four hundred, four in the 500s. There have been some slow performances—eleven scores below 150, the lowest (62) set by New Zealand in an Ajaz 10 match.
Half of the totals have been in the 300s, which means parity in bat-ball tournaments. Among the top ten wicket takers are six bowlers and four seamers (Kapil Dev, Karsan Ghavri, Ian Botham and Courtney Walsh). Seamers make up four of the top five figures here.
Former veteran curator Nadim Memon laments: “You will understand from the numbers and results that the voice offers something to everyone. The spinners were getting a chance, the seamers jumped well and managed. The ball is coming well for the batsmen. It’s how they use the situations that matter. They are usually good Test match wickets that produce results. Only seven of the 26 Tests here did not produce a result. Some of them were caused by occasional rains.
First day of practice session. The Indian team is preparing for the final Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty 30-10-24, Mumbai
But he emphasizes two aspects. Wicket grass and weather. “If there is not a lot of grass, it dries quickly, especially if there is little rain or wind, then it changes. It will crumble quickly and the field can start to tell the batsman, as Sachin Tendulkar used to say. If it is grassy, the curve at first will be slow. The constants jump and carry,” he said. The weather was so hot and humid, one stadium fan joked that you could make omelettes in the outfield. Stacks of water bottles were scattered outside. The batsmen took off their helmets to wipe the sweat dripping from their faces. The tired bowlers were lying on the floor.
There is almost a moving leaf in the area. The evening sea breeze was often an important feature. The gray windows above the Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Merchant Pavilions chart an unobstructed path for the sea breeze to blow, allowing the seamers to pull the ball around. “But there is no wind these days, the wind is still. The wind usually comes later in the day, around 5.00-5-30 pm. So it won’t have a big impact on the game,” he said.
Two days before the game, the field looked dry and the grass was sparse. The good height area of the spinners looked redder than the midriff on the face. Either way at 1 p.m., the ground crew let the painting bake in the hot sun. On rare occasions, they water the field with sprinklers to ensure that there is some moisture, lest the surface breaks prematurely. However, it was common to see people on the ground rolling the field, usually using heavy and occasionally light rollers. In general, Wankhede pitches are strong and durable and do not crack. “The clay in the red soil ensures that it does not crack and create cracks. Instead, the top layer begins to crumble (as the game progresses). The soil is a little loose,” said Memon.
The red dust blowing in the air hits you when you watch the highlights of the India-Australia Test in 2004. On Wednesday again, the dust settled from the practice nets and most of the net-bowling greats had their shirts and trousers stained. red dust. The red clay base also ensures that the ball will hold up. The curve will be sharper and teams will pack players closer together
Mitchell Santner of New Zealand celebrates the wicket of Ravichandran Ashwin of India during the second day of the second Test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (PTI photo)
So, everything points to turner. But the spinners were not going to scare New Zealand, who were recently exploited by Pune, although the black ground, where double bounces and sharp turns helped them. Mitchell Santner showed his chops against Pune, while the lesser-known Patel could have a big impact on the game. He arrived in Mumbai two days before the start of the series and trained at the MIG Club in Bandra for the long shifts that awaited him.
But Patel still thinks “India has more wood than New Zealand” in the spinners. It’s not just the batsmen—in eight innings Virat Kohli averages 58, Rohit Sharma scored a century in his only outing, Sarfaraz Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal know their pitch like the back of their hands—but India’s spinners too . “India has amazing spinners,” he said, in a tone of awe.
Both Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja enjoyed the extra bounce and sharp turns it provided. Both studied the field, between their shifts. They will have the same set of doubts as Patel and Co. When it will turn and how much it will be, the factors that determine the outcome of the Test at Wankhede. However, it could be.