India and England are currently contesting in the fourth Test match of the series at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi, with the game well-poised at the close of play on Day 3 on Sunday (February 25).
After batting first, England put on 353 runs on the first, riding on Joe Root's brilliant century and a valuable 58-run cameo down the order from Ollie Robinson. Metal Chains
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In reply, India were in danger of being skittled out for cheap after a mixture of some poor batting and brilliant bowling from the Englishmen. However, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel conjured one hell of a performance to fight back, scoring 90 runs as England could only manage to earn a 46-run lead.
The momentum was clearly with India, and the spin troika made the most of it as Ravichandran Ashwin's fifer and Kuldeep Yadav's magical four-wicket burst restricted England to a paltry 145 in their second innings.
India ended the day unscathed as Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal helped the team end Day 3 at 40 for no loss, 152 runs behind the target.
Following the conclusion of play on Day 3, a light roller was used on the pitch instead of a heavy roller.
The Sporting News explains the reason behind using a light roller in this situation.
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At the end of each day, the captain of the team that ends the day as the batting day gets to choose from using a light roller or a heavy roller on the pitch ahead of next day's play.
At the end of Day 3, India were the team that ended the day as the batting team in play, hence skipper Rohit Sharma opted for the light roller to be used on the pitch.
Little things often go unnoticed in Test Cricket! If #England batted the day out, they would have had choice of Roller ahead of Day 4 & picked a heavy roller which could have opened up the cracks further. Instead it's #India that batted late & (obviously) asked for the light… pic.twitter.com/z0PGBl6LOQ
Light rollers don't open the cracks too much and don't break the surface to a demonic extent to give bowlers an overwhelming advantage, Rohit's move to go with the light roller only made sense.
With the game already having progressed to Day 4, it's natural for the pitch to have wear and tear and become increasingly difficult for batting.
Had England batted the day out, they would have opted for a heavy roller to open up the cracks in the surface a bit more, as a result of which the English bowlers could have exploited the pitch conditions more efficiently on Day 4.
Law 10. (a) of the ICC Rules of Cricket written and interpreted by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which entails “Preparation and Maintenance of the Playing Area”, states:
During the match the pitch may be rolled at the request of the captain of the batting side, for a period of not more than 7 minutes, before the start of each innings, other than the first innings of the match, and before the start of each subsequent day’s play.
According to Law 10. (c), which talks about the 'Choice of rollers':
If there is more than one roller available the captain of the batting side shall choose which one is to be used.
Typically, a heavy roller weights one to two tonnes. There isn't much room for spinners to exploit when a heavy roller is used because the surface produces a highly unaltered and lively bounce. Because the soil has been compressed into a nearly rock-hard surface with few ground fissures, heavy rollers are ideal for quick bowlers. On the other hand, a heavy roller can occasionally further crack the surface on a pitch that is already wearing out, which spinners may find advantageous.
On the other hand, a light roller is usually about 1/4th the weight of a heavy roller. A surface made with light rollers is far softer and smoother than one made with heavy ones. By rolling over dents that, if left unattended, will solidify in the sun over the day, they even out the surface. Only the top layer of the pitch's soil is affected by a light roller; the lower layer is left unaffected.
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Slat Chain Conveyor Parshva is a Content Producer for The Sporting News' India edition.