Nightmare venue for Indian batsmen

A look at what the numbers reveal about the Chinnaswamy Stadium

23-Mar-2005

Rahul Dravid: a few scores to settle at his home ground © Getty Images

Pakistan may be 1-0 down in the series with only one match to go, but if the recent record at Bangalore, the venue of the last Test, is anything to go by, then Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq need not feel too despondent. Of the last eight Tests at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, seven have produced a decisive result. (The only one which didn't was England's Test here in 2001-02, when rain played spoilsport and allowed only 225.1 overs in the match.) India have been at the wrong end of the last three decisive Tests at this venue, losing twice to Australia and once to South Africa. Pakistan, on the other hand, have never lost a Test here: they drew the matches in 1979-80 and 1983-84, and clinched a famous victory in 1986-87, when India fell short by just 16 runs in a thrilling run-chase. (Click here for all the Tests played at Bangalore.)

As in Kolkata, it's almost certain that the captain winning the toss will bat - that's what has happened in 14 of the 15 Tests. The only instance when a captain chose to field at Bangalore was in the first Test here, in 1974-75, - perhaps mindful of facing Andy Roberts and Vanburn Holder first up, MAK Pataudi asked West Indies to bat first. It didn't help the Indian cause much - they went on to lose by 267 runs.

In the last seven Tests here, teams have batted fairly well in the first and fourth innings, averaging 37.1 per wicket in the first and 41.8 in the fourth. However, the number drops to 30.4 in second innings, and just 23 in the third. The fourth-innings stats have been propped up by two comfortable run-chases - India made 151 for 2 against New Zealand in 1995-96, while Australia achieved a similarly easy eight-wicket win in 1997-98 when chasing 194.

Contrary to common perception, fast bowlers have done better than spinners at this venue - since 1993-94 (in the last seven matches), pace bowlers have taken 80 wickets at 26.96, while the spinners have taken more wickets, 93, but they have come at 34.48 apiece. The Indian spinners are marginally better, averaging 32.65. However, the spinners usually come into their own in the latter stages of a Test - they average 39.59 in the first two innings, and 26.69 in the last two.

The two favourite sons of Bangalore have hugely contrasting stats at their home ground - while Anil Kumble has enjoyed bowling at the Chinnaswamy, Rahul Dravid has had a wretched time with the bat. Kumble has taken 34 wickets at 24.50 in six matches, but Dravid's stats look rather miserable - 127 runs in seven innings at less than 20. Almost half those runs came in his previous outing, when he scored 60 against Australia.

In fact, if the numbers are any indication, the onus of getting the runs for India will rest entirely on Sachin Tendulkar. Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman, both of whom are trying to break out of a lean patch, have an absolutely dismal record here: Ganguly has only managed 97 runs at 13.85 while Laxman's figures are equally poor - 67 runs at 13.40. So the combined stats for Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman here read - 291 runs in 19 innings at 15.31. Tendulkar, on the other hand, has flourished, averaging 62.71, with one century and two 90s in five Tests.

S Rajesh is assistant editor of Cricinfo. For some of the stats, he was helped by Arun Gopalakrishnan, the operations manager in Cricinfo's Chennai office.

Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid Anil Kumble Pakistan India Pakistan tour of India M.Chinnaswamy Stadium