Mumbai, November 22: Sudhir Naik, the Wankhede Stadium curator, walked out of the field after a long day's work on Wednesday afternoon, pouting at the sight of the Indian team that had arrived for a practice session and gnawing away at inquisitive journalists.
"They want it to turn from the first ball... Yeh kya laga rakhe hain (what are they thinking?)," he murmured. "Pehla over bhi nahi, pehle ball se turn chahiye (they want the ball to turn not only in the first over but the first ball)," the mumbling continued. When asked to comment on how the pitch is going to behave, he snapped: "I'll lose my job if I talk."
The pitch has to assist turn from the start, or as early as possible. That is the demand made by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Team India look ahead to the Wankhede, the venue for the second Test against England beginning on Friday, desperately seeking 'home advantage'. The advantage, clearly, has to be more 'homely' than what the Gujarat Cricket Association dished out in the first Test at Motera. The Motera wicket did turn but not early enough. And when it did, the bounce was missing and the pace only slowed as the game progressed.
Luckily for India, Dhoni won the toss, which ensured that England wouldn't get to bat on the pitch where run-making was relatively easy in the first three sessions of the innings.
What if there's a repeat at the Wankhede and the coin doesn't favour Dhoni? Allowing England to bat first and letting them get anywhere close to the 500-run mark would mean higher chances of a draw, which is simply not acceptable to the Indian skipper.
Dhoni appears to be very clear in his head about what his team wants and he has been mincing no words in expressing it. If a certain Steve Waugh doesn't exactly appreciate India's desperation to have turners for home advantage, it doesn't bother Dhoni at all.
The skipper was pleased at the manner in which his bowlers helped him earn 20 wickets in Ahmedabad.
Dhoni's view is that the toss should not prove to be vital, which means in case India have to bat second, their spinners should have the advantage of a turning track as early as possible in the game.
From outside the boundary rope, it took more than just a glimpse to figure out the 22-yard strip at the Wankhede which will be the centre of all attention here when the Test begins. The pitch appeared to be a damp brown patch with a smattering of grass on it.
As for the England team, when they arrived for practice here, their batting coach Graham Gooch, a couple of players and cricketer-turned-journalists such as Michael Atherton were seen looking grimly at the surface. A clearer picture of what is in store will emerge on Thursday.
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