More turn expected in Mohali for third Test

As top-ranked India eased to a massive 246-run win over England in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, the focus shifted to what the tourists can expect when the third game starts in Mohali on Saturday.

The cooler weather in the northern city will bring respite to Alastair Cook's men, but the pitch at the Punjab Cricket Association ground may prove a dampener if recent history is any indication.

In the last Test played at the venue a year ago, Virat Kohli's side hammered the then top-ranked South Africa by 108 runs on a raging turner inside three days.

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The Indian spinners grabbed 19 of the 20 South African wickets, with the prolific spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja taking eight wickets apiece.

India's 201 in the first innings after winning the toss was the highest total in the match as the Proteas collapsed to 109 in the fourth innings in under 40 overs.

The dust bowl was so much in favour of the spinners that even South Africa's three slow bowlers, Imran Tahir, Simon Harmer and Dean Elgar, shared 16 wickets between them.

So is another surface that turns square from the first day on the cards in Mohali?

Former Indian captain and television commentator Ravi Shastri said he did not expect a similarly abrasive pitch this time - unless Kohli and coach Anil Kumble asked for it.

Shastri, who was the team director during the South African series, revealed on air what many had suspected all along - that India had demanded a raging turner in Mohali to sting the Proteas.

"Yes, I had asked for it," Shastri said. "But I would like to think we will get a better pitch this time."

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said the Mohali Test could give England the best chance to level the five-match series.

"It will be much cooler there and the seamers usually get some help in the mornings and evenings," he said.

"But it is not easy to come back from a match down in the sub-continent, even though England did it the last time they were here."

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It was under Cook in 2012 that England overcame a nine-wicket defeat in the first Test in Ahmedabad to win the next two games in Mumbai and Kolkata and take the series 2-1.

On the current tour, England have already shown far more resilience on Indian soil than Australia, South Africa and New Zealand over the last four years.

Cook's tourists dominated the first Test in Rajkot before India clung on for a draw. In Visakhapatnam, England were forced to play catch-up only after a first-innings meltdown on the second day when they crashed to 5-80.

The wicket in Rajkot favoured batsmen more than bowlers, and it was the same for the first three days in Visakhapatnam before the uneven bounce came into play on the fourth and fifth days.

India's spinners may have taken 15 of the 19 wickets that fell to the bowlers, but England's seamers and slow bowlers shared the spoils with 10 wickets each, indicating a balanced all-round pitch.

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Kohli was emphatic that his team will not take England lightly in the remaining three Tests, but stressed the comeback by Cook's men four years ago did not worry him.

"England is a side we do not take for granted," Kohli said. "We understand they have quality players who have played a lot of cricket. You expect them to show resilience, character and fight.

"We know the ability they have, but we are not thinking of the past. We are not a side that thinks of what happened the last time they came to India or what happened the last time we went to England. 

"We believe in our abilities more than we analyse the opposition. That's been our strength over the past 12-14 months."

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