IND vs WI 2025: 'Greenest Indian pitch’ being prepared for first Test in Ahmedabad – Report

The BCCI is preparing one of the greenest pitches produced in India for the first Test against the West Indies, which starts in Ahmedabad on Thursday (Oct 2). Contrary to the idea of producing rank turners over the years, the Ahmedabad curator could spring a surprise for the season opener against the West Indies. The latest reports have suggested that the pitch (to be used) has a lush, even covering of grass, and while he might trim it by the time the match begins, there could still be 4-5mm left for the opening session.

So, why not a rank turner for the Ahmedabad Test?

An ESPNcricinfo report states that the reason behind preparing a greener track for the first Test is due to the soil’s composition. Given that the square at the Narendra Modi Stadium has both red-and-black-soil pitches, and the strap chosen for the first Test has red soil, it tends to offer bounce and carry when held together by the grass.

However, should there be no grass, the wicket might crumble into dustbowls as the game progresses, with the Wankhede pitch (used for IND-NZ Mumbai Test last year, where the spinners picked 34 off 38 fallen wickets) being the latest example of it.

Moreover, another reason behind preparing a greener track for the West Indies Test is the rainy weather the city has experienced lately. While the pitch remained covered on Sunday and Monday, the two teams trained on Tuesday; the rains are likely to interrupt proceedings on the first day of the first Test, with the forecast for the remaining five days remaining clear.

Blow to West Indies

Following injuries to the two Josephs who were to lead the pace attack – Shamar and Alzarri, the touring West Indies might miss the zeal on this track, unlike India, which retained two of their premier seamers – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for the home season opener.

Had the pair been around, West Indies, for the first time in a decade, could have come up toe-to-toe against India's pace attack, making it a mouth-watering contest for the fans. However, the absence of the first-team quicks leaves WI with just Seales and two all-rounders, Justin Greaves and Anderson Phillip, to share the new ball with.

On the other hand, the Indian Team has enough firepower in each of its bowling departments. The inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja and another bowler, who could be any one of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, would complement the deadly pace duo.

Here is Team India’s predicted playing XI for the first Test –

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj