'Surprised by the turn on day 1' - Zak Crawley ignites pitch debate as England struggle vs India

Zak Crawley failed to create a big impact on the first Test which is being played between England and India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. Ravichandran Ashwin took his wicket in both innings as he scored 20 and 31 in respective innings. The England opener ignited the pitch debate ahead of Day 3 of the first Test match.

Home advantage and pitch debates are always topics for hot debates. After the World Cup final pitch was rated average by the ICC, it got more heated. Rohit Sharma spoke about the pitches himself after the Cape Town Test match which ended up being the shortest Test match in history as the game was finished in one and a half days. Rohit Sharma explained in detail saying that he did not mind playing in seaming conditions away from home if the rest of the countries did not complain about spinning pitches in India.

Zak Crawley said that he was left surprised by the turn generated in Hyderabad Hyderabad on the first day of the Test match between India and England. “We were surprised by how much it turned on day one, we thought it would be turning more yesterday. Hopefully, we can use that today to get the three wickets,” Zak Crawley said ahead of Day 3 of the Test match.

Zak Crawley also added while speaking ahead of the third day’s play that he did love coming to Asia and playing in Pakistan and India, but had been surprised by the conditions in the subcontinent. “I have loved it here, it is one of the things I love about Test cricket is going all over the world. I felt ready and prepared to come into this game,” Zak Crawley said.

Zak Crawley Says That The Conditions Are Similar To Pakistan

“I’ve played in Pakistan and the conditions are similar here but it turns more. Pakistan was more about the reverse swing, the ball skidding on, but here we knew that spin was going to play a big part so that was a focus in my practice,” he further added.

England was bowled out for 246 in the first innings and in reply, India amassed 436 runs taking a lead of 190 runs after the first innings. Ravindra Jadeja was the star for India in the first innings with both the bat and ball. He took three wickets with the ball and was India’s highest scorer in the first innings where he scored 87 off 180 deliveries with the bat.

India has won 16 consecutive Test series at home since the defeat against England in 2012. They are a dominant side at home and are looking to win another Test series in the subcontinent. India’s dominance in home conditions is so high that only Australia and England have defeated India in Tests at home since 2012.

England is currently struggling in the game as they have already lost four wickets in the second innings and as of now, it looks like they won’t be able to give a huge target to India for chasing in the last innings. The other four Test matches will be played in Vishakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala respectively.