The Aussies feeling heat in final Ashes audition as ANOTHER pitch mystery emerges

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy draws to a close this week, with India hosting Australia at Narendra Modi Stadium for the fourth and final match of the dramatic Test series.

With the series poised at 2-1 in India’s favour, there’s still plenty to play for in Ahmedabad — Australia is hunting for redemption after two embarrassing losses in Nagpur and Delhi, while the hosts are hoping to book their spot in the World Test Championship final.

Australian captain Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the Ahmedabad Test due to a family health matter, and Steve Smith will once again lead the team in his absence.

Can aussies, Smith rewrite history books?

The odds are certainly not in their favour, but Australia is one victory away from clinching a historic series draw against India in their own backyard.

India has won 15 consecutive Test series on home soil dating back to 2012, a streak that could be broken in the coming days. If Australia pulled off one more miracle in Ahmedabad this week, it would be considered a career-defining feat for the squad.

“It’d be a huge achievement for the group, or any touring team, that comes here to India and wins two Test matches,” Smith told reporters on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do it earlier in the series and give ourselves a chance to win, but to draw the series here would be a huge plus and positive for this group.”

Smith, serving as Australian skipper in Pat Cummins’ absence, has now won two Tests in India, becoming the first touring captain to achieve the feat since Alastair Cook in 2012. The only Australian captain with three Test wins in India is the legendary Bill Lawry, and Smith almost certainly won’t get another opportunity to join that elite company.

“I probably can’t see myself coming back really, if I’m being realistic,” Smith confessed.

“But, we’ll wait and see, take it day by day, four years is a long time. I’ll enjoy this one, hopefully it’s a great crowd and we can entertain them and ideally finish the series really well.”

Smith has been showered with praise for his leadership during the Indore Test, and rightly so — his tactical influence and composure were crucial in the nine-wicket victory.

Cummins and Smith form a unique leadership partnership in the Test side, working together almost as co-captains depending on the match situation. Supported by a wider leadership network within the squad, Cummins repeatedly downplays his own influence on the team, acknowledging the group’s wealth of experience makes his job considerably easier.

“My role is to try and make things as easy as possible for Pat,” Smith said.

“When we’re out on the field, if I see something I try to help him along and ultimately let him make the decision.

“It’s definitely harder to communicate; I’m fielding at slip generally, Patty’s at mid-off. I can make hand gestures and things like that, but it’s not as easy as you’d like. So that can be difficult, but ultimately my job is to make things as easy as possible and help in any way that I can.”

Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cummins had only lost one match as Test captain — against Sri Lanka on a raging turner in Galle. Regardless of the outcome of this week’s contest in Ahmedabad, the paceman will reclaim the captaincy ahead of the World Test Championship final and Ashes series.

“My time is done. It’s Pat’s team now,” Smith told reporters last week.

Who is Ahmedabad test an ashes audition for?

For several players within Australia’s starting XI, this week’s Ahmedabad Test is the final opportunity to push their case for Ashes selection.

Australia will tour England over the winter, hoping to retain the Ashes and secure a maiden World Test Championship title. The WTC final gets underway at The Oval on June 7 before the five-Test Ashes series kicks off at Edgbaston on June 16.

Due to the vastly different conditions in England, the Australians are expected to make several changes to its starting XI for the WTC final, against either India or Sri Lanka. Australia will almost certainly return to a three-pace bowling attack with Nathan Lyon the lone spinner, leaving young tweakers Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann on the outer.

Lyon was the only spinner in Australia’s squad for the 2019 Ashes series, but the New South Welshman was accompanied by Victorian leggie Fawad Ahmed in 2015. It remains unclear how many spinners Australia will fly to India this year, but Murphy could help sway the decision in his favour with a bag of wickets in Ahmedabad.

Australian spin coach Daniel Vettori believes the 22-year-old’s ability to alter his method of spin bowling to suit different pitches meant he could play a role anywhere in the world.

“I think that’s where you take confidence – that he can bowl the side spin, he can bowl the overspin like Nathan, he can chop and change between those roles,” Vettori told reporters on Monday.

“I think you get the confidence that he can transition into all style of pitches all around the world.”

Meanwhile, the return of David Warner will create a squeeze at the top of the order, and Peter Handscomb is the most likely candidate to face the axe.

Despite a couple of impressive batting performances in India, Handscomb’s horses-for-courses selection means an Ashes spot is anything but a certainty.

A triple-figure score at Narendra Modi Stadium wouldn’t hurt his chances, but with Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Cameron Green in the middle order, it’s difficult to justify his selection for the World Test Championship final unless Warner makes way.

Political rally or cricket match?

“Keep politics out of sport.”

It’s a common phrase among casual sporting fans, but the fourth Test between India and Australia will make no attempt to keep them separate.

Day one of the Ahmedabad Test will double as a political rally for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom the 132,000-seat venue is named after. Modi will be accompanied by Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese for an opening ceremony before the first ball, with 85,000 students and families cheering from the stands.

Images of Modi and Albanese have been plastered across the venue, including on the sightscreen behind the bowler’s arm. On Tuesday afternoon, a comically large print of the Australian Prime Minister’s head hovered behind the touring side’s net session.

A golden vehicle circled the ground on Wednesday, seemingly a dress rehearsal for Modi’s arrival. If time permits, there might be some cricket on Thursday as well.

Both leaders are only expected to watch the first hour of play before departing for other commitments — and most of the 85,000 “VIPs” are expected to follow suit.

An estimated 110,000 people could pack into Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday, meaning the MCG’s record for the biggest attendance at a single day of Test cricket is under threat — 91,112 witnessed day one of the 2013 Boxing Day Ashes Test.

“I haven’t dealt with heaps of big crowds back home, so I’ve come over here with the mindset of just enjoying it and embracing what comes with India,” Australian spinner Todd Murphy told reporters on Tuesday.

“I didn’t really know what opportunities I’d get at the start of this tour – so I’ve had the mindset of whatever comes of it, comes of it.

“It’s going to be noisy. It’s exciting though – I think everyone looks forward to opportunities to play in front of those sort of crowds. It will be great atmosphere.”

There are genuine fears the vocal crowd could impact on-field communication and decision-making, most notably DRS reviews.

“The talk has been excitement around actually playing a Test in front of the (size crowd) then actually just the logistics of it on the field — how you deal with reviews, all that sort of stuff, because the noise will play a huge part in that,” Vettori said.

“Guys will be trying to be as pragmatic as possible around how it’s actually going to play out.”

Will the pitch drama ever end?

It wouldn’t be a Test match in India without a small dose of pitch drama.

Ahmedabad curators raised eyebrows by covering two pitches at Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday, seemingly uncertain which deck would be used for the fourth Test.

According to a News Corp report, three wickets were being considered for the series finale, but each has significantly more grass than the Indore pitch, which was deemed “poor” by the ICC.

Smith confessed he could not remember a Test match where the players didn’t know which pitch they would be playing on less than 48 hours before the first ball.

“There’s two prepared,” Smith told reporters on Wednesday.

“The groundsman said 60 per cent the black soil, 40 per cent the red soil and the boys are saying the percentages have gone up on the black soil as all the Indian players were looking at the black soil when they arrived.

“We play on what we’re served.”

India, who need nothing less than a victory in Ahmedabad to secure their spot in the World Test Championship final, are faced with a dilemma — a raging turner would aid Nathan Lyon and his spinning comrades, while a flat deck would give Smith and Marnus Labuschagne an opportunity to shine.

It’s wishful thinking, but Indian cricket fans might finally witness at least four days of action to enjoy this week.

“Everyone’s trying to produce wickets that eventually (produce) results in these games. That’s natural,” Indian coach Rahul Dravid said.

“You would be looking to produce wickets where the ball probably has a little more sway over the bat.”

Pitch debate has dominated this series, and even Indian captain Rohit Sharma is at his wit’s end.

“Honestly the pitch talk is getting too much, every time we play in India focus is only on the pitch. We focus too much on the pitch in India,” Sharma told reporters last week.

“I don’t think that is necessary. Honestly speaking, these are the kind of pitches we want to play on. This is our strength, so when you’re playing at your home, you always play to your strength, not worry about what people outside are talking about.”