IND vs ENG: Pace or spin-friendly - Here's how Lucknow pitch could behave

Team India are ready to continue their winning run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Rohit Sharma's men will be eyeing their sixth consecutive win in the World Cup when they lock horns with listless England at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday (October 29). 

And once again the big topic point will be the pitch. ICC have rated Chennai and Ahmedabad wicket as average, which has drawn criticism from India's head coach Rahul Dravid.

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With Dharamsala wicket assisting both batters and bowlers, the focus now is on Lucknow given India's Playing 11 will largely depend on how the pitch will behave during the England match. 

Team India arrived in Lucknow five days before the match and on October 26, the day of the first practice session, Dravid came to the stadium and headed straight to the curators. 

He had a long chat with curators before captain Rohit Sharma and batting coach Vikram Rathour joined him in the middle. 

The curators then watered the pitch and covered it. 

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On October 27, Dravid had a chat with the curators again and after that, the grass was trimmed from both ends. After trimming the grass, water was sprinkled over the pitch.

So how the pitch is expected to behave

The India vs England match will be played on the pitch on which the Australia vs Sri Lanka match was played. The pitch is made of red and black soil with a tinch of grass on it. The amount of grass could support the spinners. With more than 36 hours left for the game, the green grass could die given the warm afternoons in Lucknow. 

Will Ashwin find a place in India Playing 11 vs England?

Ashwin bowled and batted for an extended period of time during the first session ahead of India's sixth World Cup. Mohammed Shami missed the first practice session but turned up for the second one on October 27. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja too turned up for the net session on October 27, Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar, and Jasprit Bumrah among others missed the second session. It is expected that India will retain their winning combination from the Dharamsala World Cup match.