India’s challenge is not limited to the pitch alone. Shubman Gill has been ruled out with neck spasms, and this means that India’s best right-hand top-order batsman is out of the picture. If a specialist batsman were to take his place, India would have to choose between B Sai Sudarshan and Devdutt Padikkal, the backup in the squad. Both batsmen are left-handed, and this means almost all of India’s batting will be vulnerable to the ball turning one way off the surface.
