Prior to the first Test match beginning on February 9, Australia captain Pat Cummins made it clear on Wednesday that his team is not worried by the debate surrounding the Nagpur pitch. After Ian Healy stated that the hosts will modify the field to fit their strategy, there were numerous claims that India was attempting to “doctor” the field. Given that the conditions will be “custom-made” for India, Cummins stated it will be difficult for the team.
“These series always throw up different challenges on the field or off the field, and embracing it is what makes these tours so special. That’s part of the challenge of playing away. Home teams want to win at home. In Australia, we’re lucky we’ve normally got pace and bounce. Home match advantage, I don’t think it’s a terrible thing. It’s another challenge and makes touring over here even harder when you know the conditions are custom-made for them,” Cummins said.
Australian cricket teams haven’t triumphed in a Test series in India for the past 19 years, but current captain Pat Cummins would have everyone believe that his team is unaffected by the wins and losses of his forebears. The skipper also emphasized the significance of a strong first-innings score, which will be vital in the context of the series, as Cummins leads Australia to one of its most difficult tasks in India.
“No, this team is very different from a lot of the teams that have played here in the past. So we don’t carry the wins, we don’t carry the losses,” Cummins told reporters when asked if past results would weigh heavily on his mind. “We know it’s tough to tour here, India is a really good cricket side, especially at home, so we are excited. And, yeah, we will give it our best shot,” Cummins added.
Asked about first-innings totals, the world’s premier speedster said,”Yeah, I think it’s more important here than anywhere else in the world, that first-innings lead, hopefully. You just got to find a way to put a big total on the board, especially thinking if it is going to spin, it’s going to get really hard in that second innings.” “Rough will be outside left-handers’ off stump” With one story in the Sydney Morning Herald anticipating the type of the wicket even before a ball has been bowled on the VCA stadium track, the Australian media has already begun to make a scene over “doctored pitches.”
The left-handedness of his lineup, according to Cummins, has motivated curators to dry out areas where India’s right-hand seamers will provide rough patches for the home spinners to exploit. “Potentially, yes. Looks a little bit dry for the left-handers and knowing how much traffic will probably go through there from the right-arm bowlers, potentially might be a fair bit of rough out there,” Cummins said. But unlike his country’s media, Cummins wants to embrace the challenge.
“Again, that’s something we’ve just got to embrace. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be challenging at times but our batters will relish the chance to problem-solve on their feet, and quite a few of them will get their chances to do that.” Cummins, however, didn’t want to predict a first-innings score. “You have got to bat big in the first innings. It might not be the same for every venue. At some, 250 might be a good score, there might be other venues where you might need 500. Reading the wicket can be a bit difficult at times but you have to be ready for everything.” Lyon will bowl a lot of overs