 "IND vs NZ 3rd Test: Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai expected to offer vastly different pitch than Pune")
After losing the Test series to New Zealand following an embarrassing 113-run defeat on a spin-friendly pitch in Pune, Team India is reportedly set to welcome the Black Caps with a “sporting pitch” at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai for the third Test starting on 1 November. Team India are 2-0 down in the three-match Test series and now face a prospect of a 3-0 defeat at home. India lost the first match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru by 8 wickets amid seaming conditions, while in Pune, India faltered in familiar home conditions as a turning, slow pitch was laid down.
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The spin track exposed the Indian batter’s poor technique against tweakers as Mitchell Santner took 13 wickets. This is India’s first Test series loss in India since 2012 and also New Zealand’s first Test series win in India since 1969, in 55 years.
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As per the Times of India, the Wankhede Stadium curator is expected to offer a “sporting track” where batting will be easy on Day 1 and spinners will come into action from Day 2. The pitch at the Wankhede Stadium currently also has a “bit of grass on it.
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The newspaper also reported that BCCI chief pitch curator Ashish Bhowmick, elite panel curator Taposh Chatterjee, and Wankhede curator Ramesh Mamunkar were also present at the stadium on Monday to discuss the pitch.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“It will be a sporting track. Right now, there’s a bit of grass on the pitch. It’s expected to be good for batting on Day 1 but should offer turn to spinners from Day 2,” a source told TOI.
Read: When did Kohli and Rohit last score hundreds in home Test matches?
The situation was so bad for India that they were bowled out for just 156 and 245 in the two innings of the match. 18 out of 220 Indian wickets went to spinners with Santner picking 13 of them. Virat Kohli made just 18 runs in the match with Santner dismissing him in both the innings.
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