Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Perth pitch curator cautions India of pace and bounce ahead of 1st Test vs Australia

India is set for a challenging reception in Australia, with the pitch at Optus Stadium prepared to deliver "good bounce and pace," maintaining the tradition of fiery tracks in Perth.

Sunita Iyer

First Published Nov 12, 2024, 10:49 AM IST | Last Updated Nov 12, 2024, 10:49 AM IST

India is set for a challenging reception in Australia, with the pitch at Optus Stadium prepared to deliver "good bounce and pace," maintaining the tradition of fiery tracks in Perth. The opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin on November 22. However, India will head into the match without having played any practice games, as they cancelled an intra-squad fixture that was initially scheduled from November 15 to 17. Instead, the Indian team will focus on centre-wicket training at the nearby WACA Stadium, where Australia will also fine-tune their preparations.

"This is Australia, this is Perth... I'm setting ourselves up for really good pace, really good bounce and really good carry," Western Australia Cricket head curator Isaac McDonald told 'ESPNcricinfo'.

Also read: IND vs AUS, Perth Test: Gambhir reveals Bumrah to lead, KL Rahul likely to open if Rohit Sharma is unavailable

McDonald is aiming to create a pitch with similar characteristics to the one he prepared for the first Test against Pakistan last December. In that match, Pakistan were dismissed for just 89 in their second innings, with Australia securing a dominant 360-run victory.

The pitch developed cracks as the game progressed, causing discomfort for batters like Marnus Labuschagne, who was struck on the hands. The Australian pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc claimed 12 of the 20 Pakistan wickets.

In a more recent encounter, Pakistan’s pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf dismantled the Australian batting, bowling them out for just 140 in the third ODI. McDonald mentioned that he intends to leave some grass on the pitch, hoping to add a bit of extra spice to the contest.

"It's (10 mm) a good starting point. Ten millimetres was pretty comfortable with the conditions that we had (last year) and that held the conditions together nicely for the first few days. Live grass on the pitch is speed. Both bowling units (Australia and Pakistan) were pretty rapid last year and hoping for much the same this year (for India match),” he added.

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