By Kamran Bahra

Looking to level the series on Thursday against India, surface unpredictability could make any England preparations irrelevant.

The pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has been heavily scrutinised since the last test.

Record breaking loss

It lead to the shortest completed test match since 1935 as Joe Root’s men were beaten inside two days.

Keeper Ben Foakes has impressed on the tour so far but is fully aware of the difficulty looming behind the stumps once more.

“They are pushing their conditions to the extremities and we know it’s going to spin quite considerably”.

“The last two games are probably the hardest pitches I’ve kept on”, he added.

India spinner Ravi Ashwin has defended the criticism that it causes an uneven game.

“I don’t see any players from England having an issue, they want to improve and have this kind of contest”.

“The bowler is in the game, the batsmen needs to bat well to get runs. There’s no question about it”.

Blaming the press, he commented: “Let them sell it. Buying is always our choice”, with regard to fans believing the wicket is of poor quality.

Lasting nearer to five days will give the visitors a much better chance of avoiding defeat.