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#INDvAUS: Turning tracks are back and how

After India dished out flat decks previously, Bengaluru and Pune Tests indicate it’s back to rank turners

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The pitches used for Test matches against Australia in Pune and Bengaluru have more or less revealed India’s choice of opting for rank turners instead of flat tracks
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After a bit of a flat phase (pun intended), the season of turners is back, and this Indian team doesn't seem to mind it one bit.

The series against Australia so far has brought back memories of South Africa's tour of India in 2015 in terms of the pitches dished out. In between these two series, there was a season of flatter decks, in series against New Zealand, England as well as the one-off Bangladesh Test.

But this battle has brought back the spotlight on pitches, ones where balls aide spinners from Day One, and by the third day, it becomes almost like a Day Five pitch. Go figure.

It cost India a Test match in their incredible home run, the Aussies making them fall in their own trap in Pune. But the hosts came roaring back in the second encounter, though their batsmen still had to face plenty of challenges that the pitch presented them.

If the visitors had posed a few more challenges with the ball in hand in the second innings, the outcome of the second Test might well have turned out to be like the first.

However, the gamble of producing turners is something this Indian team management is willing to take, despite the blip in Pune.

And India captain Virat Kohli has a simple reason for it.

"No harm. If guys are picking six-wicket hauls, why would you change anything?" Kohli said after the end of the second Test when asked about turners being dished out in the series.

The India captain is banking on his bowlers, particularly spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, to continue doing the damage, while also banking on his batsmen to minimize the damage on their part.

Hence, India did away with their preferred combination of playing with five bowlers, and went in with an extra batsman for the second Test.

"If you see this Test match, Lyon got eight in the first innings, then Jadeja got six, then Hazlewood six and Ashwin six. So I think one bowler has stood out, even in the first-class season we saw that. From that feedback, we knew that we had to play an extra batter just to strengthen up a batting a bit, because we were shaken up in Pune a little bit. And you need guys to have that bit of cushion," Kohli said.

The change in combination and trend of producing turning pitches is likely to continue for the remainder of this series, and most definitely for the next Test in Ranchi.

"We can't do much about the Ranchi pitch," Kohli said, looking ahead. "It has always been slow and low. They (Australia) know exactly what to expect there and we know what to expect as well.

"The spinners have been outstanding and they will definitely look to back their strengths and dominate the home season as they've done so far," he added.

The dice are thrown, the gamble's on.

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