Australian captain Pat Cummins exchanges a handshake with Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah after winning the fifth Test match, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney on January 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Four out of five pitches used in the recent Border-Gavaskar Test series between India and Australia have been rated ‘very good’ by the ICC, which found the track for the fifth and final game in Sydney to be ‘satisfactory’, Cricket Australia announced on Wednesday (January 8, 2025).

The marquee five-match series ended 3-1 in favour of the hosts, who regained the Border Gavaskar Trophy after a decade and also qualified for the World Test Championship final in June against South Africa.

The tracks at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the Adelaide Oval, the Gabba in Brisbane and the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground received the highest rating, Cricket Australia stated in a press release.

The traditionally batting-friendly pitch at Sydney Cricket Ground, which ended up a notch below in the ratings, favoured bowlers this time. Batters from both the teams struggled for the majority of the Test which ended in two and half days.

“We encourage pitches that bring out the unique characteristics of that venue and this has long been a feature of Australian cricket,” Cricket Australia’s Head of Cricket Operations Peter Roach said in a media release while reacting to the ICC’s ratings.

“We don’t look to prepare wickets that favour the home side or suit our situation in a series. What we seek is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result.

“Weather obviously plays a significant part in preparation and we know that even our most skilled curators are challenged at times by adverse weather,” he added.

Early pace, later spin at SCG

The Sydney track had a green top with variable bounce on offer and as many as 26 wickets fell on the first two days while four Indians and as many Australians were dismissed on day three as bowlers largely dominated the proceedings.

“The SCG has been striving to bring out their unique characteristics of early pace and bounce before the pitch wears and spins,” Roach said. 

“This year was a step in the right direction to achieving this which provided an exciting finish to the Border Gavaskar Trophy series and bodes well for the Ashes summer in 2025-26,” he added.

There was some debate around the SCG track after a few former players, including Indian great Sunil Gavaskar, called it “not ideal”. However, India head coach Gautam Gambhir had termed it as “spicy” but overall good for Test cricket.

“The series also emphasised the benefits of playing first-class cricket at major venues,” Roach said.

“It allows our curators to become more familiar with the different challenges that go into preparing wickets in different weather conditions, and also allows players to enter the Test team familiar with the conditions they will confront,” he added.

India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. FIle
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

A nip in the air was obvious and while the Indians wound up their training, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, clad in a pullover and with hands dug into his pockets, spoke about the ‘sweet-headache’ associated with the team. With Rohit Sharma back and Shubman Gill revealing signs of recovery from his left thumb injury, the question was centred around the selection headaches in the forthcoming Tests.

After a prefatory ‘mike check, may the sun shine on all of us’ prelude at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Friday (November 29, 2024), Nayar said: “It is a sweet headache. It’s always good to be in a position where you get two top players coming back into your set-up. It builds a lot of confidence. It is good to have them (Rohit and Gill) back. The team is full of heart.”

However, be it the last word on Gill’s fitness or Rohit’s probable slot in the playing eleven, Nayar remained guarded. He, though, was happy with the manner in which the Indians trained: “It was raining but the good thing is that everyone was keen to play. Even in the rain, everyone batted. Whether it’s a pink ball or a red ball, there’s not much difference. We are trying to adapt to the colour and the extra lacquer on the ball in this (warm-up) game.”

On monitoring the bowlers’ workload through a long series, Nayar emphasised that after the early closure of the Perth Test, there was adequate rest: “The game got over in four days and we got three days after that. Today, the guys didn’t bowl much because of the weather. We will obviously sit and plan.”

As for the tough selection call of dropping R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja at Perth, Nayar said that as professionals the duo understood the team’s needs: “When you have seniors like Jaddu and Ash, who understand what the team is trying to do, it becomes very easy because of the team first policy. The culture of this team is that everyone wants ‘Team India’ to win.”