NEW DELHI: Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden expressed surprise at Rohit Sharma‘s bold decision to bowl first on the opening day of the Gabba Test since the surface was more suited for batting.
The Indian skipper’s unexpected move caught many off guard, including Hayden, who remarked, that the pitch conditions in Brisbane were friendly to the batters and expects it to break after the first couple of days, and then it can trouble the batting unit.
“I was really surprised that actually, Rohit won the toss and decided to bowl, because I felt like it was over-prepared. I thought it was because of the weather. There were almost 12 inches of rain in the past two weeks. And so we’ve got this showery pattern and it’s been that way for a month and a bit,” Hayden said on Star Sports.
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Indian bowlers struggled to trouble the Australian batters during their limited time on the field, as Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney appeared at ease with Australia ending the rain-marred day at 28/0 in 13.2 overs.
For this reason, Hayden believes opting to bat first would have been the smarter choice. He also pointed out the groundsman’s perspective, noting that the pitch had been prepared early due to rain, which may have influenced its behavior.
“So the groundsman would have been thinking, we’ve got to get our preparation in early, and that’s why I thought that it was gonna be as good as batting conditions as you’re gonna see now in these first two days, with the view that it will break up and, and turn,” he added.
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Hayden believes that the cracks at the Gabba will widen after a couple of days, making spinners more effective. He observed that the pitch is initially sluggish but is likely to harden up over time. He also noted that the weather conditions are typical of Queensland, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the game.
“And we’ve seen some great performances from spinners across the world at this venue and, If we do get decent weather, and that’s the fingers crossed because of the reasons I just mentioned, there are cracks in the wicket. Yeah, we just had days off, and in fact, one month of rain. The wicket was quite sluggish early, it will harden up a little bit, assuming that we do get the weather that is typical of Queensland weather, which is perfect one day and even more perfect the next,” he added.