IND vs ENG 2024: ‘India will produce spinning tracks given what happened in Cape Town,’ says Kevin Pietersen

Former England swashbuckling batter Kevin Pietersen feels India will produce spinning tracks given what happened at Newlands, Cape Town against South Africa. The Newlands pitch was an absolute minefield as it had all the help for the seamers.

The Test became the shortest-ever in history as India won by seven wickets after only 642 balls. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that he doesn’t have a problem playing on such surfaces if the rest of the world can keep their mouth shut for Indian pitches if they start turning from Day 1.

Meanwhile, India won the Test series against England in 2021 by 3-1 while playing in home conditions. India last lost a home Test series against England back in 2012 and they have been unbeaten in their last 16 home Test series.

“So the question is, can England deliver with the spinners they have? That’s going to be what dictates the series. It’s gonna spin. I actually played in Vizag [Visakhapatnam] the other day. It spun and bounced in a T20 game! Given what happened in Cape Town the other week [India won on a pitch favourable to fast bowlers that was marked poor], they won’t be shy in preparing something that spins, and they will say, ‘Let’s see what you’ve got,” Pietersen wrote in the column for The Times.

India has a potent spin battery as they have spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav in their squad. The Indian spinners are expected to do the bulk of the work in favorable conditions.

Ashwin and Jadeja have all the experience under their belt whereas Axar Patel had rattled England in 2021. While Ashwin had picked 32 wickets in four Test matches, Patel scalped 27 wickets in as many games against the English team.

The first Test match between India and England will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad from 25 January onwards.