BANGALORE: India's pitch doctors are moving to blunt Australia's dual threats of spin and reverse swing by producing a surface in keeping with the hosts' recent winning formula.
Chances are low of a repeat of last week's three-day Test with the lush centre of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in stark contrast to the abrasive square in Pune.
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Australia one-nil up with huge win
12 wickets in the match for Steve O'Keefe and a superb Steve Smith century set up an incredible win over India in Pune on day three.
The second Test strip received a decent drink on Wednesday and was later protected from the midday sun by a hessian cover in order to prevent the pitch from drying out.
Tension is high among curators in India after they were put on notice by the International Cricket Council for producing a "poor" deck for the first Test. Groundsmen were seen inserting a guage used to measure moisture into the pitch and applying a mystery substance.
The pitch is sporting patchy tinges of green but it will be no green top come game time. The quicks are likely to find the going tough on a wicket expected to play low and slow.
Mitchell Starc had said he was expecting at least a couple of semi-prepared pitches but the visitors were instead greeted by one of the greenest squares and outfields an Australian cricketer will see in this part of the world. With no abrasive surface to rough the ball, reverse swing is also unlikely to play a major factor.
This is not good news for Australia, who believe Starc and Josh Hazlewood can be a menace if the SG ball starts hooping.
There are also noticeable bare patches, which will concern the three left-handers in Australia's top order when they face star off-spinner Ravi Ashwin.
The conditions look set to be tailor-made for a high-scoring affair like those seen during India's 4-0 win over England where massive first innings totals and late English collapses became the norm.
Australia's batsmen proved last week they could dig in on a raging turner but now face the challenge of capitalising on a flat track by batting for sessions rather than hours.
It promises to be a big opportunity for vice-captain David Warner to post a breakthrough innings on the subcontinent. The gun opener is yet to score a century in India and his average here of 24.3 is a fraction of his mark of 59 at home.
Warner showed plenty of restraint in his first innings last week but should find conditions better suited to playing a more expansive game in Bangalore.
"When I see the wicket, I'll adapt," Warner said. "This wicket has always been a fantastic wicket, and a great ground to play at.
"It's small boundaries, fast outfield, but the wicket itself is very good.
"It doesn't usually break up a lot if it's a hard surface but we have to go down there and see what it's like first, and assess the conditions from there."
"Adapt" has been the buzzword for Australian cricket since they reached crisis point at the start of the summer. They have drawn plenty of confidence after the application they showed in what should be the most treacherous conditions they encounter this tour.
"A hundred per cent, and that's the thing that we reiterate to ourselves is that we played very good cricket on a wicket that was very hard and conducive to spin, and you had to think outside the box," Warner said.
"A lot of the guys had their plan A but before you got out there you had to use plan C and D.
"That's just how you had to think on your feet out there. The same thing's going to happen here.
"If there's seam and bounce, if there's turn from day one we're just going to have to adapt again from ball one."