The red dirt will turn black. The bouncing and carrying will be fleeting. And don’t expect a rank turner.
In short, this is likely to be the nature of the Green Park stadium in Kanpur, where the second and final Test match of the India-Bangladesh series will begin on September 27.
This is in contrast to the Chepauk pitch, where both teams’ seamers and spinners got good bounce. This is because the pitch was made of red clay imported from Mumbai two years ago. The bounce was a major factor in both teams fielding three fast bowlers. Although the amount of turn combined with the bounce was not great, the Chepauk pitch was good enough for spinners, with India’s R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja taking nine wickets together in Bangladesh’s second innings.
The slow nature of the Kanpur pitch will force both teams to change their starting plans. The third seamer is likely to be replaced by a third spinner, meaning either Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel could get a chance for India.
It may be tough for bowlers, but batsmen can score big on a surface with no tricks to spare. In the 2021 Tests, Shreyas Iyer scored a century and a fifty on debut, while Tom Latham scored two fifties in a rare masterclass in fielding against Indian spinners from an overseas batsman.
Additional reporting by Mohammad Isam
