Foakes: We know what we're going to get in Ahmedabad
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England wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes believes his team knows pretty well what kind of surface they are going to get in the fourth and final Test against India at Motera Stadium. The English batsmen were dismissed for 112 and 81 in the two innings of the third Test played at the same venue which they lost by 10 wickets as it concluded in just 140 overs.
The Indian spinners accounted for 19 of 20 English wickets in the match as the visitors except Joe Root and Zak Crawley failed to negotiate against the spin-friendly conditions at the refurbished stadium in Ahmedabad, which has a capacity to seat 1.32 lakh spectators, making it the largest cricket stadium in the world.
However, Foakes conceded that his team was completely outplayed by the hosts in the tricky pitch conditions. Adding that his team won't be too concerned about the track they are going to get, the right-handed batsman said they would be looking to counter Indian spinners and score big runs in the fourth Test, starting March 4 at Motera.
"Obviously, we got thoroughly outplayed. Those were tricky conditions, but they played well. They have a couple of class spinners and we did not have answers to them so I think going forward, we have to be good enough to counter that to score big runs on the board” Foakes said.
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"I don't think we're concerned. We know what we're going to get and I guess they're pushing their conditions to the extremities. We know it's going to spin considerably from ball one so it's about trying to find a way to play well in those conditions and understand they're going to be challenging," Foakes said.
The 28-year-old Surrey cricketer, who has received a lot of praise for his excellent wicket keeping skills in the last two Tests, said these were also the toughest conditions he has experienced in terms of glove work.
"The last two games have been the hardest pitches I've kept on. They've been challenging and the last game, I think it was to do with the pink ball, the amount it was skidding on or spun, I'd probably never experienced a wicket like that before. So it was a good challenge to keep on and I guess it was one I enjoyed."
