Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 21 (ANI): England batsman Zak Crawley has said that he would be surprised if India decides to produce an absolute ‘green seamer for the upcoming third Test.
The four-match series currently stands level at 1-1 and now both teams will lock horns in a pink-ball Test, beginning February 24 at the Motera Stadium.
“It (pink ball) seems to be swinging more than the red ball and doing a bit more for the seamers. It seems to be a bit harder so the spinners are skidding it on a bit more as well. So it’s going to play differently than the red ball. I expect to see more seam in this game. The spinners are still going to have to play a big role. I’d be surprised if they produced an absolute green seamer. I think it will still spin quite a bit but the seamers are going to have a bit more of a chance than in the last couple,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Crawley as saying.
Crawley had slipped on his spikes outside the changing room in Chennai and as a result, the batsman missed the first two Tests against India. Now, he is back in contention to play the last two Tests.
“It’s important not to change too much and I still back my game against spin. It’s still a great learning curve for me that I need to be a bit sharper and work on a few things, doing things that I do best. There’s room for improvement which is always positive,” said Crawley.
“I’m not going to let a few dismissals change the way I play. I had a couple of good balls, I hit one rash shot. Well, I don’t think it was a rash shot, I just mis-executed one shot. So for me, there is no problem, I’m just going to continue playing the way I play. Axar Patel is a top-quality performer so I’m going to give him the respect he deserves. It’s not a problem in my eyes, I’m just going to try to improve the way I play,” he added.
India had achieved an emphatic 317-run win against England in the second Test of the ongoing four-match series. As a result, the series stands level at 1-1 and the Virat Kohli-led side has also reached the second spot in World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
India remains in contention to make the final of the ICC World Test Championship. The victory in Chennai on Tuesday has lifted India to the second position with 69.7 percentage points on the points table but they cannot afford to lose another match as they need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify for the final of the maiden edition of the championship.
England, who led the table after winning the opening Test, has slipped to the fourth spot with 67.0 percentage points. They can still qualify, but for that, they must win both remaining matches of the series against India. (ANI)