Hyderabad: West Indies great Vivian Richards on Monday joined the debate surrounding the Motera pitch, saying that people need to stop cribbing about the nature of the surface.
The only day-night match of the ongoing four-match Test series was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where India thrashed England by ten wickets in two days. And the fact that 30 batters were sent back to the pavilion in just five sessions has raised questions regarding the nature of the Motera deck.
However, the former West Indies skipper feels Indian tracks have always been spin-friendly and if the Joe Root-led outfit had done their homework, they would have been better prepared to face R Ashwin and co.
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"I've been asked questions recently about the Test match that was played in India… the second and third Test match against England. And I am a little confused about the question really because there seems to be a lot of moaning and groaning about the wicket that they were playing on. I just felt that the ones who are moaning, in my opinion, should realise that there are times that you're going to get a seaming track, a ball that is basically jumping off a good length and everyone thinks that's a problem for batters. There are times batters sometimes cope with that," Richards said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
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"But now you've seen the other side, and this is why I think it was given the name Test match cricket, because of the test of the mind and will and everything else that goes with it when you're competing. And the complaints have been that the wicket is spinning too much and all that sorts of stuff. This is another side of the arc guys. People seem to forget that if you're going to India, you should expect that. You are going to spin land. You should basically prepare yourself to know what you're going to encounter.
"Rather than the moaning and groaning, especially just recently how quickly that Test match was over. It gives England an opportunity and a chance to assess things, to believe that for some reason the wicket that they're going to encounter in the fourth Test is going to be the same. If I was India or I had anything to do with the preparations of the wicket, I would bring in very much the same," Richards added.
Richards also heaped praises on Virat Kohli-led Team India before asking England to come out of their comfort zone.
"Ever since that first Test match, England were in their comfort zone. They have now been taken out of their comfort zone at present and they have got to find ways and means to cope with what they are going to encounter. Spin in all part of the game, this is what a Test match brings. The Indian pacers have been brilliant over the past few years in terms of substance, wicket-taking ability and stuff like that. But now that you're in India, you are going to encounter things and have got to find a way. You're going to get dirty. There is nothing in the rule book that says I've got to score my runs in pretty, classical ways," he said.
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"I just believe all the moaning and groaning has got to stop and just see the classical side of things in terms of the Indian armoury. And from where I'm sitting, it's good to see," the West Indian signed off.
The fourth-Test of the series will commence on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
If India manages to win or draw the final Test against England, then the side would qualify for the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the side would take on New Zealand in the summit clash. England is now out of the WTC final contention after losing the third Test against India.
