“No specific instructions from our side”: India’s bowling coach opens up on Ranchi pitch after batting failure cricket news

India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey on Friday said the JSCA Sports Complex pitch was not a turn turner but he did not expect it to play so slowly on the second day. By the end of the second day’s play, the host team was playing at 219 runs for seven wickets, in which England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir took a brilliant 4 wickets for 84 runs in his second Test. “Given the nature of the games played here before, the wicket gets slower as the day progresses,” Mhambrey said after the second day’s play.

“Historically, they slow down and play at a lower level. We expected it, but honestly, we didn’t expect to play at such a low level the second day. The dynamic bounce was unexpected.

“At the moment, I wouldn’t call it a rank-turner; it’s just that the bounce is low, making it a bit challenging to bat. I don’t think there were too many balls that spun fast or were unplayable.”

Mhambrey further stressed that the team management has no role in pitch preparation and it is the prerogative of the local association.

“First of all, the venue is not something we can control. The way the wicket has played here has always been the same, never a rank turner. That’s the nature of the soil.

“There are no specific instructions from our side that we want to play on the rank-turner.

Obviously, the soil here is different from what we have seen in Rajkot.”

‘You have to be mentally prepared’

As India prepared to bat last, Mhambrey expressed hope that the pair of Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav would be able to reduce the deficit. India is still behind by 134 runs.

“We have two set batsmen at the crease, who have applied themselves well and put together 40 runs. The important thing is to get close to their scores. That’s the first step, and then we’ll assess tomorrow That’s how close they are to achieving the target (England’s first innings score).

“No matter what the numbers are, mentally we have to be prepared to chase the target. We need to bat well in the second innings, starting with this partnership. We need to bat better,” he said.

England’s spin duo of Bashir and Tom Hartley were spinning fast in the air and asked if this was the way forward, Mhambrey said they would favor their strengths.

“(Ravichandran) Ashwin is a different kind of bowler. Everyone will stick to their strengths. We don’t need to repeat what he has done. We have to stick to our strengths and hopefully keep taking wickets.”

“England’s spinners bowled well. Bashir maintained good line and length and at this level, you expect your opponents to do the same.”

“He kept it simple and took wickets. Every spinner has his own style and strengths. He stuck to his strengths – not being a big spinner, he is a tall guy, maintained his length and kept it simple The same applies to (Tom) Hartley, too,” he signed off.

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