GREEN CORNER IN BOXING DAY BOUT

MCG curator says grass on the surface should excite pacers

- GOMESH S MELBOURNE

Boxing Day 2018 was Australia versus India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. As is the case in the ongoing series, the scoreline read 1-1 with the visitors winning in Adelaide and Australia levelling it up in Perth.

On the contrary, what happened defined India's one of the epic away moments in cricket. India batted first to pile on 443; Cheteshwar Pujara (106) once again tormented the Australian pace attack. Thereon, Jasprit Bumrah did what he does, helping India secure an unassailable 2-1 lead. While Indian players needed to be lauded for their performance, there was a scene that sums up where the contest was lost.

In the seventh over on Day One of the Test, Mitchell Starc ran in and pitched the ball in length on leg stump. The ball went down the leg, but kept low and rolled past the then captain and wicket-keeper Tim Paine. The visuals of it accompanied Justin Langer, the then head coach, in The Test documentary saying, "I think it was the second or third over, the ball bounced about this high (knee level) and you could just feel the energy in the whole coaches' box just go 'oh no, it is the flattest wicket in the world.'"