The ground tends to offer assistance to the faster bowlers. Spinners took just six wickets between them in the three Tests played here last year. Overall, pacers have taken 120 wickets compared to 41 by the spinners.
In the two Tests India have played here and lost, their pacers took 20 wickets compared to just 9 by the spinners. It is worth noting that England spinner Moeen Ali’s heroics (5/63 and 4/71) in the second of those two India losses, in 2018, came not in June but in late August-early September.
Captain Virat Kohli, however, explained that the team had planned to go in with the best players on offer regardless of the conditions. “For us it’s about covering those bases, getting batting depth and the (best) bowling options. Weather forecast is something we’re not focused on. We’re not bothered about what the weather holds and whether we need to change the outlook of the team. Of course, day to day decisions will change (because of rain) but not the whole team al
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If not the finals, then in the quarterfinals or the semi-finals. And that s a testament to their consistency. So, the underdog tag should go. Yes, there are, perhaps bigger names in some of the other teams and that s why you count them as favorites. So, I don t think India will be underestimating them. They beat India comprehensively well when India toured New Zealand and the conditions are likely to be very similar to what India got in New Zealand. So, India will have to play well to beat New Zealand in this contest, he added.
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