The first three Test matches in this India vs England series so far have been gripping – well, the final two matches at least – with the home team really needing to work for their wickets, considering the pitches that have been given to them have been largely flat, with little help for their chief spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. So, just what can we expect for the fourth Test match?
Early reports suggest a slow pitch that will begin to aid the spinners from day three is in prospect at the Wanhkede Stadium in Mumbai. But then, the same has been said for most of the Test matches so far.
Reading pitches in this series has been a little difficult, with most expecting the wickets to do things, only for it to remain benign for large parts of the Test match.
In Rajkot, there was just way too much grass on the pitch for it to break up, largely because the organisers wanted the debut Test match at the venue to last the five days. While England came to within four wickets of winning the Test match, for the most part it was a dull Test, with bowlers unable to get enough purchase from the wicket.
The same could not be said of the Visakhapatnam pitch, with the pitch giving a chance for both the fast bowlers and the spinners to make an impact. There was a bit of reverse-swing and just enough variable bounce and spin to keep the bowlers interested, and while scoring runs quickly wasn't easy, Virat Kohli showed it was far from impossible.
It would have been nice to see the wicket break up a little bit more, because watching the batsmen trying to cope against the spinners on a turning wicket, when the ball spits from the rough and does a bit from the normal part of the pitch as well, is an engrossing watch in the sub-continent.
That was expected, or at least hoped for, in the Mohali Test match, only for the wicket to prove to be the flattest one yet, even if the India bowlers found ways to pick up 20 wickets, largely by exerting pressure on the England batsmen.
While India have done well to just go about their business, regardless of the conditions, there is nothing wrong in preparing a wicket that starts to take turn and challenge the batsman's technique against spin from day three, like some of the pitches in the New Zealand series did.
The Mumbai wicket, according to some reports, will do just that, and to watch just how the England batsmen and the willow-wielders of the home side cope will add another layer to "this has been a wonderful series" feeling.
