When India were bowled out for their lowest Test-innings total of 36 in Australia recently, no one blamed the pitch for having demons in it. Virat Kohli & Co had batted decently in the first innings, so their fall in the second was the talent that Australian seamers possessed. Michael Vaughan to much space in the media
Two months later, England came to India and won the first Test in Chennai. A few days later, they lost the second Test on a different pitch at the same venue and the criticism began. The Chennai track was no doubt a tough one to bat on, and the one used for the day-night third Test at Ahmedabad was even more challenging. Both India and England couldn’t Bat well on Ahmedabad Pitch.
Former England captains Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss, and Alastair Cook have slammed the turning tracks aiding spinners, especially the one used for the day-night Test which ended in 2 days. Ahead of the fourth Test at Ahmedabad, former Indian cricketer, Deep Dasgupta has responded strongly to all the negative criticisms coming from the former England players.
“We have had enough discussions about the pitch. We are giving Michael Vaughan too much space in the media,” Dasgupta said on Sports Today. “Let’s move on, we all know what his views are, we all know the others’ views are.
“Let’s just accept how things are going to be, you expect pitches to turn in India let’s just take that as a fact.
“If you want flat pitches, we’ve got white-ball cricket. Test cricket is about testing your abilities, your skillset in various conditions. That’s how it is. If you don’t like it, too bad then, Test cricket is not for you.”
Deep Dasgupta Urged The Batsmen To Be Mentally Ready For Another Spin Track In 4th Test
“It’s more of a mental thing than a skill. You’re expected to have a certain amount of skill when you are playing at this level. But the biggest challenge would be to be mentally ready for what they’ve had in the last few Tests. Be mentally strong enough and be fearless about what the situations are going to be from tomorrow onwards. Clarity of thought is also very important because you can overcomplicate things by thinking about all this.
“You can have all the gameplans against the bowlers but how the players react when that first ball turns is the key. Are you still calm enough to hold on to your gameplay or you suddenly panic again? I think it’s more of a mental challenge than anything else,” Dasgupta said.