Australia vs India 2018-19: Curator Reveals Pitch Nature As Perth Stadium Gears Up To Hold Its First Test
Updated - 13 Dec 2018, 11:37 AM
India and Australia head into the unknown as they gear up to take on each other in the crucial second Test of the four-match series. India lead the Border-Gavaskar series one nil after winning the series-opener by 31 runs. In the process, India registered only their sixth win in Tests in 12 visits to Australia. It was also the first time, India managed to win the first game of a Test series in Australia.
The teams are now all set to renew their rivalry in the second game. However, both the teams will have their task cut out as they will play at a venue which is hosting its first-ever Test. Instead of WACA, Perth Stadium will host the upcoming game. However, the players and the fans will not miss the WACA much as the pitch of the new venue is likely to assist the pacers more.
WACA head curator Brett Sipthorpe has revealed the nature of the pitch ahead of the crucial game. Ahead of the blockbuster second Test, the head curator of the stadium revealed that they were asked to make a fast bouncy pitch and that is what they have done.
“We’ve just been told make it fast, make it bouncy if you can and run with it,” Sipthorpe told cricket.com.au. “We’re just trying to produce the bounciest pitch we can.”
“We’re pretty much planning for exactly what we had for the Shield game.The feedback we got back from the players was terrific, I don’t think I’ve spent so much time talking to players during a game but we just wanted to garner as much feedback as we could from the players,” he added.
“We didn’t get any negatives from them, they were all really positive about it. We’re pretty much aiming for the exact same moisture content, and we’re hoping for the exact same pace and bounce,” he added.
Well, the Shield clash between Western Australia and New South Wales was thoroughly dominated by the pacers. 32 of the 40 wickets had fallen to fast bowling, with Warriors quick Jhye Richardson taking 11 wickets. At the same time, Blues batsman Kurtis Patterson proved runs could be scored with a fine century on day one.
Meanwhile, India have suffered two big blows just a day ahead of the Test. They have lost Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin due to injuries. Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to replace the two in the playing eleven.
