The pitch at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium has received a lot of criticism after the pink-ball Test between India and England ended in two days, but it is likely to escape harsh sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC) with the track for the final match set to be batting-friendly. 

With a 10-wicket win on Thursday, India went 2-1 up in the series and are just a draw away from qualifying for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. With the final, to be played at the Lord’s from June 18-22, at stake, the hosts will look to take minimal risk as far as the pitch is concerned. 

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“Expect a good hard surface which will be firm and even bounce. It will be a batting beauty and since its a traditional red ball match, one can expect a very high scoring contest here from March 4-8,” a senior BCCI official privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Also, the BCCI bigwigs, along with the team management, understand the fact that another rank turner will not bode well for the new venue, which is expected to host a lot of important matches during the IPL as well as the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup.

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“If there are two matches played at the same venue, you can’t hold one result in isolation. Let the final Test be over and then only, based on match referee Javagal Srinath’s report, can ICC decide its course of action. Also, as of now, the England team hasn’t lodged any official complaint,” the BCCI official said.

If there has been one good and one bad pitch at the same venue, the ICC is unlikely to take any action. While India would be happy with a 3-1 margin, they will not require a result-oriented turner as a draw would suffice their purpose.

Also the Indian team management doesn’t want to prepare a track that can ideally backfire on them in a very high-stake game of cricket.

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“The pink ball Test went well because it was more about the ball and the way it skidded rather than the pitch which many English former greats are panning. It was straight deliveries that they couldn’t counter. But having said that these kind of tracks have a tendency to backfire and BCCI is well aware of that,” he said.

The team combination for the next Test will be an interesting one after Jasprit Bumrah was released from the squad due to personal reasons.

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Mohammed Siraj has a better chance than Umesh Yadav of being Ishant Sharma’s new ball partner, while it is expected that all three spinners will be automatic picks.

Washington Sundar’s superior batting skills might come in very handy in the middle order for the last Test match.