Test cricket may be lacking in its appeal universally but pitches help the bowlers and challenge the batsmen.

If batting is an art, as Don Bradman displayed, so is bowling, especially on tracks that test your technique and temperament.
Modern analysts insist cricket is a mind game. It always was. Three astonishing knocks when batsmen have carved runs on minefields stand out as India and South Africa fail to live up to international standards during the Test here.
The 96 by Sunil Gavaskar at Bangalore against Pakistan in 1987, the 97 not out by G. R. Viswanath against the West Indies at Madras in 1974 and the 166 by Dilip Vengsarkar against Sri Lanka at Cuttack in 1987.
Viswanath was a champion on backfoot, Gavaskar excelled at stepping out to meet the threat and Vengsarkar played the crease, his long stride helping him dominate.
The ball was turning square at Bangalore and Cuttack, a visually appealing sight, but the masterly performances by Gavaskar and Vengsarkar took the quality of batting a few notches higher. Every ball spelt a wicket but the maestros left no room for breach. Puffs of dust on a crumbling pitch, batsmen looking to survive and bowlers out to get them can be a fascinating duel to watch.
In Gavaskar’s opinion, temperament was the key element on a dodgy pitch. “You must not play panic shots. The skill factor is always important, the footwork and the bat speed, soft hands…But temperament is what separates men from boys. One has to anticipate, what we call the second guess,” the master told The Hindu.
“The trick lies in rotating the strike when the bowlers are on top,” said Vengsarkar. “Pad can be the second line of defence, not first. You should be able to manoeuvre the bat according to the spin and bounce. You have to learn to grind.”
It is no doubt a test of a batman’s technical and mental expertise. “Bat as if you are on a 100 already,” was how Virender Sehwag would approach. His confidence to face adversity was matchless.
VVS Laxman too believed in attacking the bowlers and scattering the close in fielders with a flurry of shots. But that needed class and a wide range of shots to establish dominance on the bowlers. Most modern batsmen have lost that dexterity.
Arduous task

For a bowler too it can be an arduous task not to get carried away in helpful conditions. Test left-arm spinner Maninder Singh said, “It is like a fast bowler losing track on a green top. On a helpful pitch, all you need to remember is good line and length. The pitch will do the rest. You should not try too many things. I made that mistake (against Pakistan in the second innings at Bangalore in 1987). People told me do this, do that, and in the process I forgot to do my own thing.”
Maninder bagged seven for 37 in the first innings, bowling line and length, and three for 99 in the second when trying too many things as Pakistan won by 16 runs.
Anil Kumble noted, “I think a bowler must understand the pace of the pitch. You should be able to use the pace to your advantage, have to vary the pace, and also identify and exploit the spots to your advantage. For the paying spectator, wickets falling, innings being built, intrigue in every session, a Test match can be an enjoyable experience. There is little score for boring cricket because something keeps happening all the time. This is the whole objective — of providing entertainment — that administrators around the world are looking for.”
Last but not the least is the job that umpires perform on a pitch where constant appealing creates a thrilling aura in the middle. It is a true test of the umpires’ powers of concentration and decision-making skills and one remembers the words of Dicky Bird who once said that officiating in the sub-continent was a tough job. “Picking bat-pad snicks amidst the roar of a huge audience is indeed challenging,” he used to say.
Test cricket may be lacking in its appeal universally but pitches that help the bowlers and challenge the batsmen have their own romantic old-school appeal.