We are on the cusp of one of the most interesting clashes in modern-day cricket. On January 25, Ben Stokes’ England will take on Rohit Sharma‘s India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The India vs England (IND vs ENG) 1st Test won’t just be the clash of two of the biggest teams but also two contrasting styles.
England’s aggressive Bazball will go against India’s traditional approach. These contradictory styles of play will be in action at the Uppal Stadium. Ahead of the first Test of the series, check out the detailed pitch report for Hyderabad Cricket Stadium:
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad Pitch Report: IND vs IND 1st Test
The pitch at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is batting-friendly. Although most pitches in recent times in India favor spinners, the surface in Hyderabad allows batters to score big runs.
Despite batters being the dominant force in Hyderabad, bowlers are never out of the game here. In the last match played here, batters and bowlers remained equal throughout the match.
Both teams scored more than 300 runs in their first innings, and pacers and spinners both did as well. The fast bowlers had the upper hand, taking 18 of the 30 wickets in the match, and spinners took the remaining 12.
The average first-inning score here is 405, illustrating that the best time to bat here is in the first inning. Chasing in the fourth inning here is extremely difficult. Out of the five matches played here, only once has a team completed a successful chase. That, too, was a mere 72-run target in the fourth inning.
The last Test match played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was in 2018. Since then, the nature of the pitches being prepared in India has changed. One might expect the pitch to favor the batters, but no one would be shocked if we see a spin-friendly pitch in Hyderabad to tackle England’s Bazball approach.
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