Starc expects better pitch in Bangalore

Cricket365
February 28, 2017

Australia paceman Mitchell Starc expects the pitch in Bangalore to be more of a traditional Indian wicket rather than the raging turner that saw India crumble in Pune.

The Bangalore curator will look to learn from the mistakes of Pune and try to prepare a surface that will play to India’s strengths and not leave them exposed as they were in the first Test.

Starc has played in Bangalore plenty of times before having turned out for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

The fast bowler told a press conference: “I can’t see it being too bouncy or quick because it’s a weakness of the Indian batters.

“We’ll probably see it not turning as much as this (Pune) 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.

“We know that first innings (totals) are going to be huge now for the rest of the series, and when we bat in the second innings to really make the most of it.

“If we can do that as a batting unit, it’s going to leave us in great stead and then the bowlers we really feel like we can take 20 wickets whether it be with the reversing ball or, as we’ve seen this week, with spin.”

The pitch at the Chinnaswamy is still likely to be dry but should prove to be a truer wicket than the nightmare surface in Pune.

Starc admitted that the pitches he played on in the IPL aren’t really an indication of what the Test surface will be like.

He went on: “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.

“After the first over I bowled (in India’s first innings at Pune) there was a little bit of natural swing, and then Steve obviously bowled at the other end and it was quite an abrasive wicket.

“It didn’t swing after that.

“I think we can get better at reverse-swing, in terms of how we get that ball – looking after that shiny side, because if there’s going to be more wickets like Pune, they’re going to be so abrasive and really chop the ball up.

“So we probably didn’t get it going as much as we would have liked, but there’s three Tests to go and we’re one-nil up.

“We know we’ve got huge reverse swing when we’ve got it here in India, so we’ll have a look at what the (Bengaluru) wicket has got for us.

“There is probably going to be a couple of (recently used) wickets on the square as well, and when the ball gets into that off the bat it’s going to create some rough sides on that ball.

“So it’s about looking after that shiny side.”

The second Test gets underway on March 4 in Bangalore with both teams afforded a few extra days to recover after the first Test ended inside three days.