Indian batsmen can’t blame pitch with low bounce for their failures
When the second day ended, the sun was a distant, drowning spot in the Ranchi skies. The backdrop was more akin to an English evening, and the sorry scorecard would suggest that India were subjected to a harrowing spell of swing and seam bowling. The story couldn’t have been more conflicting, as it was not the seaming ball but the spinning ball that confounded India’s batsmen.Paras Mhambrey, India’s bowling coach, would take objection to calling the surface a turner. “It was not a turner,” he emphasized. “No ball spun alarmingly. It was the low bounce that made batting difficult here,” he added.
When variable bounce kicks in, batting becomes nightmarish. Anywhere in the world; any time of a Test match. Suddenly, the judgement fades, the confidence fizzles and doubts creep in. It’s like ...