India showed in the series against New Zealand that they are capable of overwhelming teams at home even with the pitch not being overly conducive to their spinners. The term pitch was a touchy subject for Virat Kohli and co. and every time anyone even mentioned it, the answer would be one that bristled with indignation and irritation.
Kohli and R Ashwin and the rest of the India side would have hoped the talk about pitches in India and how that is overly skewed in favour of the home team – as if home conditions are not supposed to favour the, well, home team anymore – would have died down after the manner in which they beat New Zealand, on tracks that were helpful to the spinners, but far from rank turners – indeed the Test match in Kolkata was more conducive to the faster bowlers – however, it was not to be.
One of the first questions was always "so what are the pitches like, and how helpful will it be to the spinners?" or something along those lines. The first Test in Rajkot proved to be a dud of a pitch, with the curators putting in a little too much grass on the surface in order to make sure the first ever Test match on the ground would last the five days.
Kohli said he wasn't too happy with the amount of grass and the talk about the pitches continued. Head over to Visakhapatnam and the wicket was fairly flat, with the spinners coming into play as the match progressed.
However you looked at it, it was just a good cricket wicket and India played the better cricket, as a result they beat England to take a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, that win was put to the fact that India won the toss, giving them the advantage, with Alastair Cook saying had England won the toss, they would have won the match.
It was "criticised no matter what you do" territory for Kohli again, with the Mohali Test match, proving to be a pretty flat track. India, one more time, played the better cricket, getting England out for a below par first innings total, before never relinquishing control. This time, neither the toss nor the pitch could be blamed – India had won after losing the toss on a flat wicket and been clearly the better team.
Come Mumbai, India again showed what it is like to bat big in the first innings. With most critics saying England's first innings total of 400 was about 50 above par, considering the wicket was turning a fair bit – the red soil in Mumbai does that – Kohli and India went on to post a score of above 600, before running through England in the second innings to complete an innings win.
The final Test in Chennai, which only went ahead thanks to some miraculous work from the groundsmen, had the flattest wicket yet – a proper road that was a batsman's dream. Unfortunately for England, they yet again failed the pressure test as India broke records to clinch a 4-0 series win.
There was no way anyone could blame the pitch or the toss – like in Mohali and Mumbai, Cook had called right and had the advantage of batting first.
This India team might have a lot to still prove away from home; but when it comes to playing in familiar conditions, whatever the pitch, whatever the outcome of the toss, they are a near-unbeatable force.
So, enough with the tosses and pitches, it is time to appreciate this wonderful India team that Virat Kohli is moulding and sit back and enjoy what should be a few more Test wins in this bumper home season.
