Batting wicket for Sunday blockbuster?

Jonny Bairstow may have cried wolf over the nature of the pitches in some of the matches which England have lost, but in all probability the hosts will get a high-scoring surface of their liking for their crucial match against India here on Sunday.

A fresh, unused pitch is being rolled out for the big clash that will likely diminish the influence of spinners while the prediction for clear skies and rain-free day should render pacers less effective. The significantly shorter boundary to the left of pavilion may also upset bowlers’ rhythm if there’s a left-right combination in the middle. It should be noted that India don’t have a single left-hander in their top-order after Shikhar Dhawan’s exit while England have three of them if they choose to play Moeen Ali. It’s unlikely they will try Rishabh Pant, the left-hand option, on Sunday.

These are exactly the conditions that England have missed in three of their losses to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia. They have struggled on pitches that haven’t been batting friendly, blunting their biggest strength and Morgan admitted they would have better chances in high-scoring games.

“If it’s a bilateral series, regardless (of opposition’s batting strength), we want to play on the best possible wicket, preferably a batting wicket, and we always do,” Morgan said. “We bat deep. We bat strong. We tend to play in high-scoring games. So, it’s an area that we’d be more confident playing. I think everybody knows that.”

Morgan also emphasised that England haven’t managed to adapt as well as they would have liked to in difficult batting conditions.

“I can’t fault the commitment or application that the guys have produced in every single game,” he noted. “Where we’ve let ourselves down as a group is adapting to conditions. It’s been a bigger challenge in this World Cup than previous bilateral series that we’ve played. So, tomorrow’s going to be the exact same. We’re going to have to adapt to conditions, adapt to playing against a strong side in India,” he offered.