India given slower pitches, but fresh wickets for Aussies: Is the pitch really level?

Rohit Sharma with Gautam Gambhir, pitch offered to Team India (Pic: AFP/@im_sandipan/x)

To quell the ongoing controversy surrounding pitches, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) head curator Matt Page addressed concerns on Monday, stating that the pitch at the stadium has not been altered in response to the upcoming Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The Kookaburra ball used in Australia, with its less pronounced seam and tendency to soften more quickly, presents a greater challenge for bowlers compared to the Dukes ball, which is known for supporting seam and swing bowling.

The series is currently level at 1-1, following India's hard-fought draw in the third Test in Brisbane. The Boxing Day Test is set to begin on December 26 at the iconic MCG.

Page reassured that the pitch will provide opportunities for bowlers at various stages of the match, while also offering a fair contest for the batsmen, at the press conference.

"Nah, so we haven't altered our pitches because of the balls. We've basically like I said, we sat down probably seven years ago, after 2017, and discussed where we wanted to go as an organisation and what we wanted to be renowned for, and that's produced in test matches that are going to provide a thrilling contest, I guess. It gives the bowlers an opportunity at various points in the game, but it also gives the batters a chance too, if you play well," he told the reporters.

The head curator added that earlier they had played around with our grass lengths of the pitch and after that, they reached the level where they wanted to get.

"So we then tried and played around with our grass lengths, our compaction levels, moisture levels, and that probably took us three years to where we wanted to get to, and then we've probably been, I would say the last two or three years, we've been quite consistent in what we've rolled out, and we leave a bit more grass on them now than what we used to, but it's provided thrilling contests, and that's what we want to do," he added.

Earlier last week, Australia made a couple of changes to its squad, addressing the absence of Josh Hazlewood and concerns in the top order. The hosts have added Beau Webster, Jhye Richardson, and Sam Konstas have been added to the squad before the fourth Test match of the series.

After a mild side strain in the Perth Test which ruled him out of the second Adelaide Test, Hazlewood did return for the third match in Brisbane but faced a calf strain during the warm-up on the fourth day. He bowled one over and left the field for scans which confirmed the serious extent of his injury, ruling him out of the series.

In the first Test at Perth, Hazlewood had taken five wickets, including a four-wicket haul in the first innings. Scott Boland will likely take Hazlewood's spot in Australia's playing eleven for the fourth Test, held at the MCG, starting from December 26 onwards.