All eyes on Nagpur pitch for third Test

NAGPUR: One need not be surprised if Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his colleagues look at the Jamtha wicket just like Sherlock Holmes over a pile of ash. For, the 22-yard strip on offer in the first two Tests have been nothing less than a nightmare.
While Dhoni criticised the Hyderabad pitch saying, "We might have to play 10 days to get a result," Harbhajan Singh said "the curator deserves to get the contract to build national highways."
With the fate of the series set to be decided in the third and final Test starting on Saturday, the curator at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha, Praveen Hinganikar, will be a man under express scrutiny over the next few days."It will be a good, sporting wicket," says Hinganikar a former Vidarbha Ranji Trophy skipper.
He adds, "There will be something for everyone in this wicket. Given its hardness, the ball will come nicely on to the bat which will enable the batsmen to play their shots. The pacers willing to bend their backs will also get some help. As the match progresses, the spinners too will have their say."
Of course, the wicket that Hinganikar offered against Australia in November 2008 came in for a lot of praise after Mahendra Singh Dhoni went on to win his first Test match as full-fledged India captain. However, in the last Test match played here, Dale Steyn wreaked havoc after India’s batting was weakened considerably due to last minute injuries.
Now, with pace ace Zaheer Khan unavailable, the onus will be on the spinners to do the job for India. And, finger crossed, a pitch offering enough turn and bite for the slow bowlers is what the home team would be hoping for.