Mitchell Starc knows, turning pitch or not, one thing is certain for the second India vs Australia Test match in Bengaluru – the wicket will not have too much bounce or carry.
ICC gives Pune pitch poor rating
Starc believes the fact that India batsmen struggle when there is extra bounce means even if the pitch is likely to be a lot better for the batsmen than the one in Pune, the track in Bengaluru will not have too much in it for the fast bowlers, as far as pace or that extra lift off the pitch is concerned.
"I can't see it being too bouncy or quick because it's a weakness of the Indian batters," Starc said. "We'll probably see it not turning as much as this wicket has or breaking up as quickly.
"I think we'll probably see a wicket similar to maybe the England series they had over here where it's probably flatter and there's some really big first innings totals and the game happens a bit quicker towards the end. It's a smaller ground but a bit better of a wicket than what we've seen here in Pune."
A wicket where the pitch slowly but surely starts to aid the spinners is what helped India in the series against England, with the visitors, despite putting up strong scores in the first innings, still ending up on the losing side.
India really should have stuck to a similar plan from the first Test against Australia, rather than pitching in for a rank turner, but having learnt a harsh lesson, the pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is expected to be a lot better for the batsmen, even if Starc expects the track to remain on the dry side, albeit not as dry as the wicket in Pune.
Starc, a master of the reverse-swing, is hopeful the dry conditions will help him cause problems for the India batsmen with the old ball as well as the new, shiny one.
"Obviously we'll wait until we get there to see what the conditions are like but I'm sure it will be a pretty dry wicket again, so that'll probably help reverse swing there and it's something we'll be working hard at all the time in the nets," Starc added.
"We know we've got huge reverse swing every time we've got it here in India, so we'll have a look at what the wicket has got for us. It's about looking after that shine on an abrasive square.
"And if it's not going to spin as much in Bangalore, we're going to have to make sure we're using that reverse swing to make up for not as much spin as we've seen here in Pune."
