On Friday, India took on England in the second match of the sides' five-Test series in Visakhapatnam. The visitors had struck the first blow when they won by 28 runs in Hyderabad last week.
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India won the toss and chose to bat. They lost captain Rohit Sharma early for 14, before Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill stitched together a decent stand. The hosts ended day one on 336/6, with Jaiswal unbeaten on 179.
On the second morning, Jaiswal reached his double century, eventually scoring 209 as India were bowled out for 396. The bowlers then took over, with Jasprit Bumrah ripping the heart out of England's middle order, reducing them to 173/6.
"Batting quality dropping because of pitches" - Sourav Ganguly criticises BCCI's preparation of home pitches
The Indian batting had come under heavy criticism in the first Test, and during the first innings of the second Test. Apart from Jaiswal, no other batter made more than 34, with several dismissals being presented to the opposition, rather than taken.
While India were bowling, former national team captain Sourav Ganguly took to social media to express his thoughts on India's current batting crisis and how it related to the preparation of Test pitches at home.
When I see Bumrah Sami Siraj Mukesh bowl . I wonder why do we need to prepare turning tracks in india ..my conviction of playing on good wickets keeps getting stronger every game .. They will get 20 wickets on any surface with ashwin jadeja Kuldeep and axar .. batting quality…
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) February 3, 2024
The BCCI has often been criticised for preparing wickets that spin from day one, with many claiming that such tracks do not provide a good competition between bat and ball. The pitch for the first Test was similar, with cracks visible from the first day.
In Ganguly's view, rather than providing home advantage, these tracks are proving detrimental to the Indian batters as batting on such extreme pitches means they often do not get the time to bat long and compile huge scores. It is an argument which may hold some water, and could possibly be looked into.
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