Rajkot, the placement for the third Test between India and England, sits on the T-shirt sleeve peninsula of India’s west coast. Lesser used on the cricket circuit than its huge Gujarat cousin, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, it has hosted solely two Tests, which between them totted up 9 centuries. The pitches there aren’t generally known as “paata” for nothing.

All which could be very a lot to the style of Rajkot (and Hove’s) favorite son Cheteshwar Pujara, the formidable run-machine hewn from the identical granite as India’s coach, Rahul Dravid. Pujara, 36, handed 20,000 first-class runs throughout a Ranji trophy recreation in January, becoming a member of Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar within the Indian pantheon, and made a first-class century on Friday. But, regardless of the murmurings of the previous head coach Anil Kumble, there appears to be no practical probability of a recall. India, like England, have plumped for the tombola ticket of youth.

After a fallow interval, Pujara’s alternative at No 3, Shubman Gill, appears to have secured his place for the collection with that invaluable 104 in the second innings at Vizag, which took India out of straightforward attain of England’s chasing pack. But, if Pujara is not a bodily presence within the dressing room, Dravid will hope that one thing of his private qualities stay, as Virat Kohli as soon as mentioned: “Pujara teaches us patience.” An invaluable high quality within the face of Bazball.

With no Pujara and Kohli out for the remainder of the collection, India’s formidable batting lineup nonetheless appears to be like considerably underpowered – although Rohit Sharma is but to hit full throttle and KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja look probably, harm allowing, to return after lacking the second Test. The new batters might be grateful they don’t seem to be being introduced with the raging turners that England flailed round on in 2021.

The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot was constructed solely in 2009. A contemporary bowl crammed with bucket seats, sufficient for 28,000 spectators, and photo voltaic panels, it’s two hours stroll from the town. England’s one previous Test there – truly the primary held on the stadium – was quantity considered one of a slowly unravelling unhealthy dream of a five-Test tour in 2016-17. The pitch was a batting paradise, the place six pedestrian centuries had been stitched and folded (Pujara’s the second quickest, and Ben Stokes’s the second slowest). The captain Alastair Cook’s second innings 130 arrange a conservative run chase, with India set greater than six an over for victory.

England pushed exhausting, their spin trio of Zafar Ansari, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid wheeling into the mud, the sq. ultimately turning sharply, however, in the long run, they ran out of time. It was their one probability of snatching a win, the collection disappeared quickly downhill afterwards, adopted in fast succession by the one-day after which the Twenty20 collection.

There appears little probability of Stokes’s England footslogging away to set India six an over, although he would fancy that kind of chase himself in what can be his a centesimal Test match. And he isn’t the one one with milestones to tick off. Ravichandran Ashwin remains to be looking out for his five hundredth wicket, after seemingly pocketing it at Vizag when he had Tom Hartley caught within the second innings, just for England to overview and the third umpire to spoil the celebration. While Jimmy Anderson, within the best of fettle, is simply 5 Test wickets away from his 700th, with Shane Warne’s 708 in his sights.

Whether he may have any quick bowling back-up within the third Test, from Mark Wood or the peroxided Ollie Robinson, depends upon what the pitch medical doctors reveal later this week. A considerably exasperated Dravid was additionally protecting his playing cards near his chest. “Curators make the pitches. We don’t ask for rank turners.

“Obviously tracks in India would spin, how much they’ll spin, how less they’ll spin … I’m not an expert. I sometimes get told they’ll turn on the third day, but they turn on the first day. Sometimes I get told they’ll turn on the second day and they don’t turn till day four. So I’m sometimes as clueless as anybody else. We’ll look at the wicket and we try to do the best with we can with what we get.”

Whether England will be capable of conjure one thing out of the “paata” stays tantalisingly within the air till Thursday. Then, with golf golf equipment again within the cabinet, two back-to-back Tests, in Rajkot and Ranchi, earlier than a remaining match within the foothills of the Himalayas.

Only then will we all know whether or not Stokes can be part of Cook, Douglas Jardine, Tony Greig and David Gower as Test captains to win a collection in India, placing an finish to their run of greater than 11 years with out dropping a Test collection at residence.