Last Updated on 29 mins by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Hyderabad pitch report for 1st IND vs ENG Test | Will the Hyderabad pitch spin big early in the Test?
The nature of the pitches in England’s tour of India in 2021 was a hot talking point. Ahead of their 2024 showdown, attention is squarely on the Hyderabad pitch ahead of the first Test of an eagerly-awaited five-match series.
A glimpse of the pitch via social media suggests it will aid spin quite early in the Test. The surface is quite dry and bare especially near the popping crease, which will certainly test the front foot techniques of the batsmen. Also, warm, dry conditions throughout the match will assist spin further.
Hyderabad pitch report – dry, turning surface set to greet the teams
England’s final XI suggests they feel it will spin from the get-go. They have picked three specialist spinners and just the one fast bowler in Mark Wood. Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Jack Leach will assume the main spin duties. Joe Root, who took 5/8 in 2021, can also offer more-than-handy offspin.
So, one feels the toss could prove crucial. There is little doubt the captain who wins the toss will opt to bat and look to play from in front before the surface wears out further. However, it must be noted that no team who won the toss went on to win a Test in last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia won the first two tosses only to lose, before India lost at Indore after choosing to bat. The last Test was a draw. Also, in 2021, England won three of the four tosses but ended up losing 3-1.
Rahul Dravid held his cards close to his chest when discussing the pitch on the eve of the Test. But, the India coach expects spin to play a key role.
“Hard one to say [nature of pitch]. We will have a look at it and figure it out. It looks good from what I’ve seen,” Dravid said.
“But may spin a little bit. How quickly and how fast, I’m not sure. But it might spin a little bit certainly as the game goes on.”
England fast bowler Mark Wood believes his team shouldn’t focus too much on the surface. Back in 2021, the surfaces were a big talking point as England barely laid a glove after winning the first Test at Chennai.
“We’ve discussed the pitch,” said Wood. “But I wouldn’t say we discussed it at that length to worry about it. We have enough self-belief in our group that we can do something special.
“We’ve got spinners, we’ve got seam, we’ve got good batters and we’ve got a good recent history behind us.”
Wood continued, “We know that this is a massive task. It’s not good coming here and rolling over thinking it’s going to be tough because the pitches are not what we’re used to. We have to find a way.”
