India v Australia, 2nd Test, Mohali, Oct 17-21

After the stalemate of B'lore, I think Mohali will throw up a result.

Expect the pitch doctor to be hard at work . . .

Mohali usually has some pace and bounce, doesn't it?

Mohali used to be quite favourable for seamers. But after being relaid it has become a bit flat.

Henry wrote:Mohali usually has some pace and bounce, doesn't it?

See my comment above.

And I think this is the first time Aussies will be playing a test at this venue.

So, do India have a serious decision to make in regards to perhaps dropping one of the spinners? Either of them could be dropped, as neither Bhajji or Kumble was very impressive in this test. I can't see the captain being dropped, mind....

Bhajji WILL play for sure while Kumble will be seeing the doctor.

How I hope for him to be ruled out due to injury!!

Shouldn't it be- ruled out due to 'injury'?

God. I'm starting to sound like tac........

Kumble will play if he's anywhere near fit. For his captaincy as much as anything - not that he's a tactical genius but a few things I heard on the radio seemed to be making the point that nobody else can, or cares to, see that the hothead elements in the Indian side behave themselves..

I think Munaf would be a good addition to Indian team provided he is fit enough.

Munaf has good record too in his only test here.

Can't wait. Same team should play, assuming Kumble is fit enough. Hope this pitch does something more than make the ball give up before reaching the batsman.

Bounce and pace please.

doubtful on the new mohali pitch. since its been relaid its more like the pitch we just saw, pretty dead. hope they make a more result oriented pitch this time

We will see...

In OCT 2006 PAK played an ODI vs SA at Mohali on a really bouncy and fast pitch(they were bowled out for 89 or something).

2005 IND PAK test match was great.

tac wrote:Expect the pitch doctor to be hard at work . . .

Stop sooking.

furriner wrote:

tac wrote:Expect the pitch doctor to be hard at work . . .

Stop sooking.

Sorry, didn't mean to cross into your territory . . .

So what's the inside word, oh wise Indian colleagues? What sort of deck is most likely?

Do they have any stray Kiwi curators in the Punjab?

skully wrote:So what's the inside word, oh wise Indian colleagues? What sort of deck is most likely?

Do they have any stray Kiwi curators in the Punjab?

Mohali will be flat is the word and take spin as the match progresses. The toss is everything.

Para Batsman wrote:

skully wrote:So what's the inside word, oh wise Indian colleagues? What sort of deck is most likely?

Do they have any stray Kiwi curators in the Punjab?

Mohali will be flat is the word and take spin as the match progresses. The toss is everything.

Sounds like skully and RD . . .

Mohali will be flat is the word and take spin as the match progresses. The toss is everything.

Another draw then......

Para Batsman wrote:

skully wrote:So what's the inside word, oh wise Indian colleagues? What sort of deck is most likely?

Do they have any stray Kiwi curators in the Punjab?

Mohali will be flat is the word and take spin as the match progresses. The toss is everything.

Yes. It seems that it'll be a flat track. However the curator begs to differ:

Mohali track to assist seamers: Daljit

"This has been an unusual season and we have seen heavy rains in this part of the country. Honestly the pitch and ground preparations have been hampered," Daljit admits, "We are trying our best to have a hard and a dry wicket with consistent bounce." As ever, especially with winters around the corner, the faster bowlers will find movement both on and off the wicket. "We can see the data. The morning sessions are always loaded in favour of seamers while the pitch eases out as the game goes on. We have a few days left and hope the sun shines," Daljit said.

"I think bowlers can exploit the bounce at this wicket resulting in batsmen edging deliveries. Also, there would be no reverse-swing here as we don't have a rough outfield," he added.

I think it'll be the usual flat track which'll have juice on day one and after that it'll be flat till the last day.

Another link which says something about Mohali track:

Rain hits Mohali preparation

- The wicket definitely has moisture. However, some days remain, says Daljit
LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI


Daljit Singh

Calcutta: Rain till as recently as October 4-5 has hampered the preparation of the Mohali wicket for the second Test against Australia, from Friday.

With the face-off in Bangalore ending in a draw, one can expect an all-out war in Test No.2 of the four-match series.

All the more attention, therefore, on the surface.

“The late rain has come as a bit of a bother and, today, the wicket definitely has moisture. However, some days remain and I’m praying that the surface offered will turn out to be a good one,” said Daljit Singh, chairman of the grounds and pitches committee, both at the national (Board) and state (Punjab) levels.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Monday evening, he added: “We’ve stopped watering and are hoping that the sun will help dry the top layer of the wicket... The ferocity of the sun, though, has lessened and the day-time temperature has come down... As for the lower bit, we’re relying on transpiration.”

.....

He maintained that “nobody” should expect the surface to help spinners from Day One. “I would never prepare such a wicket and, traditionally, that just hasn’t been a Mohali characteristic.”

Daljit continued: “If everything goes well, you could look forward to a traditional surface... Seamer-friendly (initially) with bounce... There will be something there for the batsmen as well... Later, spinners are likely to come into play... In fact, it’s interesting to note that (India’s Test captain) Anil Kumble has been the MoM in two of the seven Tests staged by Mohali.”

Both awards, incidentally, came against England — 2001-02 (under Sourav Ganguly) and 2005-06 (when Rahul Dravid was the captain).

The wicket earmarked for the Test has already hosted a few matches, including the rain-affected four-day inter-district final between Chandigarh and Ludhiana, this season.

“It’s not going to be an untested surface... Because of the weather, the wicket during that inter-district final had been sluggish... But, then, that was some three weeks ago,” pointed out Daljit.

The Australians, clearly, will be fancying their chances in Mohali. However, Zaheer Khan (MoM in the first Test) and Ishant Sharma would also be looking to make a statement on the traditionally seamer-friendly surface.

Having stunned Australia in Perth this year, Kumble and Co. needn’t really lose sleep over the bounce-factor.

“An aggressive captain would probably like to bat after winning the toss... Having said that, a captain may also wish to be aggressive by backing his bowlers and inserting the opposition… The call is going to be interesting,” remarked Daljit.

Actually, it won’t surprise if the Team India think-tank actively considers fielding three new-ball bowlers for the maiden Test against Australia in Mohali.
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But I just do not know how much to rely on his words!

If they play an extra seamer there goes Ganguly

I know Pathan is not in the squad, but could the Indian selectors call him up as the third pace option and open the batting with him, leaving out the Gambler?