England skipper Joe Root said it is up to the International Cricket Council, and not the players, to decide whether the "difficult" Motera pitch is suitable for Test cricket after his side was crushed inside two days by India in a low-scoring day-night encounter.
Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon has joined India counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin in defending Ahmedabad's spin-friendly pitch where India thumped England inside two days of the day-night third Test on Thursday.
Coloured seating at the newly-built Motera stadium could make the job of the fielders a little bit harder in terms of citing the pink ball in the day-night Test.
With both the Indian and Australian Prime Minister set to visit the Motera Stadium for the opening day of the fourth Test, the security has been beefed up at the stadium.
The pitch drawing flak from former players like Vaughan, though Gavaskar credited the Indian spinners rather than blaming the surface.
Mohammed Shami will be needed on a dry Motera surface, which might be conducive for reverse swing.
Pitch curator Dhiraj Parsana says the wicket for the second Test between India and South Africa will have good bounce for the seamers on the first two days and be good for batting after that.
The Motera pitch came in for sharp criticism from some former players after England were bowled out for 112 and 81 in the two innings as India crushed them by 10 wickets to grab a 2-1 lead
India-England will lock horns in a pink-ball Test, beginning February 24 at the Motera Stadium.
Shah, the son of India's Home Minister Amit Shah, will have his task cut out as the ICC looks to find an acceptable solution to implement the 'Hybrid Model' for the Champions Trophy originally scheduled in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat from Wednesday, during which they will watch the first day of the fourth Test match between the two countries at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on March 9, officials said.
Lyon is confident that there will be a result with two days left in the game.
India might have to beat Pat Cummins's men if they are to qualify for the WTC final.
Bikash Mohapatra analyses what went wrong for India, and right for England, in the just-concluded second Test in Mumbai.
One of the very few batsmen to emerge with his head held high in the big defeat to India in the first Test, England skipper Alastair Cook on Monday said it was time for all the team members to chip in.
There is a possibility that India might play three pacers in the pink-ball Test.
The BCCI is believed to be taking a cue from Cricket Australia which had allowed entry of spectators during the India series that concluded on Tuesday.
Spectators might be allowed in the second India-England Test in Chennai after the central government's fresh COVID-19 guidelines permitted crowd attendance at fifty per cent of capacity at sporting venues.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on Sunday.
England on Thursday suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat in the third Test against India on a spin-friendly Motera track to go down 1-2 in the four-match series and the result garnered varied reactions from the British media.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth and final Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel will be ready to exploit the conditions to the fullest.
Images from Day 2 of the fourth Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad.
Shubman Gill to reach Ahmedabad on Wednesday but remains doubtful for Pakistan game
India need a draw in the final Test, also in Ahmedabad from March 4, to reach the WTC final against New Zealand.
After stumps on Day 1, the England captain Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood spoke to the match referee calling for 'consistency in the process'.
Bumrah said they are still learning how to approach pink ball games.
Tactician par excellence Gautam Gambhir couldn't have envisaged a battle of brains with a more different kind of adversary than the smiling yet ruthless Pat Cummins as Kolkata Knight Riders face a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad in a mega IPL final in Chennai on Sunday.
'Ahmedabad is completely sold out. Happy to see normalcy back,' Ganguly said.
'My strength is to bowl wicket-to-wicket and not give batsmen room,' says the destroyer-in-chief of the England innings.
Will Rahul Dravid like to end current term on high or seek extension?
'You have to be extra cautious and focussed, you need to talk to yourself'
While a draw always seems a safe option in a game like this but Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri wouldn't like to play a defensive game which at times can be counter-productive.
Quizzed whether batting will be easier in the final Test as it will be a red ball game again, he answered in affirmative.
The Motera stadium now rechristened as the 'Narendra Modi' stadium has witnessed some of the iconic moments in India cricket.
'Who doesn't love the crowd? We are happy to have the support of #TeamIndia fans and it shall be no different at Motera Stadium'
'I expect a bit more seam in this game and for the seamers to have more of a chance than perhaps they did in the last couple of Tests'
England's lead spinner Jack Leach says he is ready for a new role as the day-night pink ball Test against India looks set to bring the seamers back into the forefront after the spinners dominated the first two matches.
Usman Khawaja hit an unbeaten century to give Australia the upper hand on Day 1 of the fourth and final Test against India in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
India's batting megastars will be desperate to clear the cobwebs from their head in pursuit of a second successive World Test Championship final berth as they take on Australia in the series-deciding fourth Test in Ahmedabad from Thursday.
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