IND vs AUS Ahmedabad Test preview: Of politics, turf wars and ‘spin’

Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, formerly Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, is where the 4th and last Test match between India and Australia of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played from March 9 to 13. (Photo: Twitter)

Three three-day finishes. 649 overs of action. Barely eight days of actual play. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy has felt chaotic and stop-start, like a ride in the unreserved compartment of an Indian railways coach — it has hurtled along across the country from one city to another in an eventful stop-start frenzy of dust, noise, crowds and plenty of stupor between stations. The scenes in the countryside have kept changing, but the patterns keep repeating and melding into one another. By the end, we’ve covered a lot of ground, but are left searching for memorable moments to remember the journey by.

It’s been fun in its own way, but this series has scarcely delivered on the promise of a classic. The most recent installments of the India-Australia rivalry have been long-drawn, hard-fought battles with every game following a unique cadence, dictated in no small measure by tough, but contrasting conditions. The first three Tests of 2023, on the other hand, have largely been adaptations of the same script — win toss, bat first and collapse against spin. The one exception to the rule was Delhi, where Australia batted remarkably well in the first innings, only to undo the good work with a bizarre implosion in the third. Like good sides generally do, Australia have improved with every passing day, and go into the decider with the wind in their sails after thumping India in Indore.

From the days of Steve Waugh, India has always been their "Final Frontier". Irony is that Waugh, and his anointed successor Ricky Ponting, both failed to conquer the frontier. That honour defaulted to Ponting’s stand-in Adam Gilchrist, who led Australia to a rare and famous win in 2004. In 2023, Australia are once again under standby skipper in Steve Smith. Like Gilchrist, Smith is a natural leader of men, denied the full-time role by happenstance and circumstance. Will history repeat itself in Ahmedabad?

The patterns repeating from 2004 are uncanny. Then, like now, both pitch and politics were massive factors. The seminal Nagpur Test of 2004 featured a green pitch that was inhospitable to the Indians, the outcome of a BCCI turf battle — pun intended — between Shashank Manohar and Jagmohan Dalmiya. The odds of a green pitch in Ahmedabad in 2023 are less than zero. India’s pitch curators have forgotten the art of producing a neutral Test wicket. The verdict is out on why Indian pitches have become crumbling roulette dials. Some blame the coach and the captain, others blame the ruling government. Whoever is responsible, is doing the Indian team a disservice.

In 2004, politics was very much a part of Indian cricket — a plum portfolio for ministers to milk for political gains. Cut to 2023, and the politics of cricket have not changed all that much. However, the political climate, and the stature of India as a cricketing force are both unrecognisable from what they were in 2004. The parallels between the BCCI and India’s political agenda are striking: in both spheres, India has surged ahead into positions of great power, in no small measure aided by puffed chest rhetoric, commentary and spin — pun unintended this time around.

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium at Motera, Ahmedabad is a storied venue that has witnessed history many times over — Sunil Gavaskar scored his 10,000th Test run here, and Kapil Dev passed Richard Hadlee’s record when he picked his 432nd Test wicket here. Cricket fans of current vintage may not recall the history of this famous ground.

After all, many people disregard India’s history before 2014. That year, a new leader took over and presided over what would be the most successful era in the country’s history. I am of course talking about Virat Kohli, and India’s world-beating run in Test cricket under him. Similarities to themes repeating outside the cricket field are coincidental.

In recent years, Motera has undergone a full revamp and a rebranding — it is now the Narendra Modi Stadium. Since 2021, it has hosted a whopping 11 international fixtures, in addition to marquee IPL games including the 2022 final. The stands in the remodelled ground can host 100,000 people, and are painted saffron and blue. Those colour choices are not coincidences. The Motera is not merely the newly minted headquarters of Indian cricket, but a veritable symbol of the country’s majoritarian brand of nationalism.

Indian stadiums may have draconian rules, terrible seats, broken toilets and no easy access to food or water. But rest assured, at least one VIP enclosure at the Motera will be swish and swank on Thursday, for Modi himself will be in attendance, alongside his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. For their benefit, let’s hope for a Test match that doesn’t end on the first day — after Indore, that’s not the most far-fetched idea.

India are confronted by a momentous — but not particularly decisive — Test match. The Trophy has already been retained, and barring a miracle from the Sri Lankans touring New Zealand, even a defeat in Ahmedabad won’t stop India’s date with Australia in the WTC final. Yet, India would want to close out this series 3-1, and earn the WTC final berth on their own dime. The VIPs in attendance may add a wee bit to their anxiety.

India have several worries facing them. Their batting has been worryingly ordinary, and they will pray for runs from Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. Axar Patel’s ordinary series as a bowler is a big concern; that his runs are so valuable that it renders his bowling form moot is a bigger concern. Will India consider extending their batting line-up and benching the second seamer Mohammad Siraj for this game?

Australia will bank on the law of averages turning in the favour of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. If they do get cracking, alongside contributions from Travis Head, Peter Handscombe and Usman Khawaja, the visitors will be confident of running up decent scores. If they do, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc are leading a good enough bowling unit to trouble India.

Modern-day cricketers are trained to tell us that every game is "just another game"; that even a World Cup is just another trophy. But on Thursday, when Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith and co. look up at the sight-screens between overs, they will see pictures of their Prime Ministers smiling back at them. The Aussies may find it chuckle-worthy, but the Indians will feel just a little bit more is at stake. For Modi watching the action at the Modi Stadium is not going to be the same as Sachin Tendulkar watching the action unfold from the Sachin Tendulkar stand at the Wankhede. Or Gautam Gambhir overseeing the action from the parking-lot themed tobacco advertorial inventory named after him at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

But on Thursday, as the dignitaries and their PR teams settle down, the spin merchants, the curators of surfaces and perception will recede into the background, and the umpires will call play. At that moment, the sightscreens will turn white, and hopefully, cricket will come back into the focus. The last time these two teams duelled a four-Test series, it came down to an extraordinary decider at the Gabba. If the Motera gives us even a fraction of that drama, we are in for a cracker.