‘I don’t think…’: Keshav Maharaj’s bold claim on Indian Pitches ahead of India vs South Africa Test series

Maharaj believed that the curators here are unlikely to provide spin-friendly pitches in the series, unlike in Pakistan recently when their spinners ruled the roost to help South Africa level the rubber after losing the first game.

“I don’t think it will be as spin-friendly as we experienced in Pakistan. I think it will be good wickets that will deteriorate as the game goes on. So, probably, more of your traditional Test wickets from what we see,” said left-arm spinner.

“I think if you watched a bit of the West Indies series, it was good wickets that went almost to day four and five. So, I do believe that the sort of narrative is changing in terms of getting wickets.

“They (India) are a wonderful team and they’ve come a long way, especially with the transition that they have had. I would think that they want to go with good cricket wickets, just judging from the West Indies series.”

In their previous two tours to India, the Proteas saw the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dictate terms on turning tracks.

Maharaj also said they will carry a bit of momentum from Pakistan into the rubber against India.

“We are carrying a bit of momentum from Pakistan in that second Test, (where) we showed that regardless of the toss, we’re still going to fight and try to force the result in our way.

“I think there’s a real precision about how we’ve gone about our business throughout this cycle so far, and in the previous cycle,” said Maharaj.

( With PTI Inputs )