Pitch perfect: India, Bangladesh intensify training ahead of first Test

Chennai, Sep 17: After spending two days preparing exclusively on a red-soil pitch, India and Bangladesh trained on a deck made of black soil here on Tuesday.

The first Test, beginning here on Thursday, is expected to be played on the red-soil trampoline which often offers good purchase to pacers, but the black-soil composition is more likely to assist the spinners.

The unusual weather pattern in the city could affect the nature of the pitch as the match goes on.

“It’s really hot here in Chennai for the last couple of weeks, with temperature touching late 30s. Even though I heard that the pitch is sufficiently getting watered, the extreme heat could lead to its disintegration as the match progresses. "It will bring the spinners into action as the match moves on. So, that could be the reason the batsmen were preparing for the turning ball,” a veteran curator told PTI.