India vs Australia 2017: MS Dhoni influencing the wicket in Ranchi ahead of third Test

What’s the story?

After qualifying for the knockouts of the 2017 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the Jharkhand team reached Ranchi earlier today and in no time, former India skipper MS Dhoni visited the Jharkhand State Cricket Association stadium (JSCA stadium) to monitor the preparations for the third Test between India and Australia.

JSCA secretary Debasish Chakrabarty said that Dhoni is very cautious about the nature of the wicket and he visits the stadium regularly just to make sure that things are in place ahead of the Test. He is also in touch with the curator and the groundsmen to know about the pitch and wants the Test match to be a memorable one.

“He (Dhoni) is very cautious about the wicket conditions. To make sure that everything is in place, MS visits the stadium regularly. MS gave a few suggestions. And even after reaching Kolkata, he constantly kept in touch with the curator and the groundsmen to know about the preparation of the pitch. With the Indian team bouncing back in the series, even Dhoni wants to make the third Test memorable. That’s why he is always ready to help,” he said.

In case you didn’t know...

Ranchi’s JSCA stadium will become India’s 26^th Test venue when it hosts the third Test between India and Australia. The venue has previously hosted four ODIs out of which India came out victorious on two occasions while the visiting team managed to get the better of India only once with one match getting washed out.

India has won the only T20I hosted by the venue. The venue has also hosted a few IPL and CLT20 matches as the home ground of the Chennai Super Kings.

The heart of the matter

It has been revealed that the JSCA has prepared three strips under the supervision of curator S. B. Singh. One of the three pitch looks lush green while the second one has uniform grass on it. It is likely that the Indian cricket team will choose the third one that hardly has any grass on it.

Even though the JSCA hasn’t received any missive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with regard to the type of wicket it should prepare, the secretary indicated that they would be delivering a track that will help the spinners.

However, the JSCA curator, S. B. Singh claimed that the 22-yard strip for the third Test will be a balanced one, where the batsmen will also have their moments of glory. He also assured that the match will go on till the final day and the side batting fourth will face a challenge as the wicket will start spinning from the third day.

“We will be strictly following the BCCI guideline, which states that a pitch should be balanced. Even though this track would eventually help the spinners, it would also give the batters a chance to stick around. The spectators will enjoy a five-day match. The tweakers will be able take control of the game after the second day. The side batting in the fourth innings will face a challenge,” he said.

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Video

MS Dhoni walks out to bat in his home ground against New Zealand.

Sportskeeda’s Take

It is good that MS Dhoni is supervising the preparations at the JSCA stadium ahead of the Test match to make sure that his limited-overs teammates get all the assistance they need to take a lead in the four-match series.

With the curator giving us an analysis of the wicket, the team winning the toss will look to bat first and put pressure on the opposition and try to take a 2-1 lead in the series.