IND vs ZIM: ‘Fresh’ Chepauk pitch should bring welcome relief for India

Chennai: A week of soul-searching after a chastening defeat to South Africa has left India’s T20 outfit more interested than usual in the state of the 22 yards beneath their feet. When the squad landed in Chennai on Monday afternoon ahead of Thursday’s must-win meeting with Zimbabwe, the message from the MA Chidambaram Stadium was unusually encouraging: the relaid Chepauk surface is offering pace and carry, a development that could jolt India’s flagging batsmen back to life.

Historically a sluggish wicket that favours spin and cutters, the stadium’s main strip has undergone a complete overhaul. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association kept the ground idle for more than five months after relaying one of the pitches, and the enforced rest has produced a track on which the ball is skidding on rather than stopping. Evidence came quickly in the tournament’s opening fixtures: Afghanistan’s 182 was overhauled by New Zealand in 17.5 overs, left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad was left out of the Afghan XI, and totals of 175 and 176 were chased with nearly five overs to spare.

Black Caps quick Lockie Ferguson, no stranger to Chennai’s idiosyncrasies, labelled the surface “exceptional” and noted that seamers Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy extracted encouraging bounce. Captain Mitchell Santner admitted it finished “pretty flat”, while Canada’s Yuvraj Samra rode the truer pace to a 65-ball 110. Even the customary dew that complicates night affairs has stayed away; sides batting first have defended 196 and 200 without drama, tempting Suryakumar Yadav to insert himself at the toss.

Zimbabwe’s collection of pace-off options—Sikander Raza and Blessing Muzarabani among them—would have welcomed the old, tired Chepauk strip. Instead they confront a quicker deck and an Indian top order desperate to relocate its timing. A par score here has leapt from the traditional 150-ish to something approaching 180, exactly the sort of shoot-out the Men in Blue need to reboot a faltering World Cup campaign.

Chennai’s fresh canvas may not solve every problem, but for a batting unit that has spent the past fortnight searching for velocity, it offers the rarest of commodities in this format: a second chance.