IND vs AUS: Turning tracks to qualify for WTC final, India had no other option - Sunil Gavaskar

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Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has reckoned that India opted to go with turning tracks in the ongoing 4-match Test series against Australia as they had "no other options" other than this to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final which will be played in Oval in London in June.

Gavaskar stated that in the absence of premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, India must not have felt confident about picking 20 wickets in the match and therefore retorted to spinning tracks. He added that the bowling attack of the Rohit Sharma-led team wasn't very strong in his opinion.

Sunil Gavaskar explains why India opted turning tracks

"Taking 20 wickets is not going to be easy in India. On a lot of Indian pitches, without your ace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami and a slightly inexperienced Mohammed Siraj, I don't think that bowling attack is such (strong). But with a little bit of help from a dry pitch, India can probably take 20 wickets. I think that is the thinking behind preparing such pitches," Gavaskar told India Today.

"For India to reach the World Test Championship Final, they did not have any other options (than producing turning tracks). If you would have had a strong attack, maybe you could have done something different but your strength is your spinners and therefore I think these pitches are being made. You do not want a flat pitch where the batters go out and dominate. These pitches are testing the temperament of the batters," he added.

IND vs AUS: India's turning track strategy backfires in Indore

India benefited from the turning tracks in the first two Test matches in Nagpur and Delhi respectively, and won those games inside three days. However, the strategy backfired in the third Test as India lost the match despite winning the toss and opting to bat first. Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann picked a five-wicket haul in the first innings and Nathan Lyon picked eight wickets in the second innings as India lost the match by nine wickets.