Nah, the pitch is terrible man.
Look it's a difficult pitch. I will concede that. But what I am finding here is, and this is something that I noticed even in the Sri Lanka series and mentioned it then, Indian top order (being that they are all younger and less than 50 tests old) still need to develop different gears to adjust in different conditions.
I think the 0-8 in 2011 and the backlash led to a strong desire to make your mark as batsmen in overseas conditions. I remember Rahane and Pujara talking about it...I remember Kohli talking about taking on Steyn before the 2013 series. Nothing wrong with that. It's absolutely fantastic and India's batting in SA 2013 and Australia 2014 is evidence of this new approach working. Look at the rate India scored against MJ and co in Australia last year.
But here's the thing...this is why Australia crumbled in UAE and England put up a much better effort. Australia are used to scoring 400 in Day 1 and get frustrated when they can't.
You have to develop other gears on slower tracks. Other than Vijay in 1st innings and Pujara in 2nd innings, no other Indian batsmen made an attempt to play the 'ugly' innings that Cook or YK or Misbah are so good at playing on these conditions. You have to grind it out, struggle, get beaten, have a few appeals but get that scratchy 70-80 that is vital in these conditions.
You can't expect to dominate from ball 1 without having done that ugly bit on these pitches. Indian batsmen just didn't spend enough time. Look at the Mishra dismissal in both innings. I understand the thinking behind this approach, but you also have to adapt based on circumstances.
These are quality batsmen though and they will learn ultimately the importance of playing that 'ugly' innings. Whether they learn soon or take time is still to be seen.
