Former captain Despite India preparing themselves for both conditions, a report in Indian Express revealed that Chennai is likely to roll out a pitch with red-soil content, thus putting the visitors, who predominantly play on black soil back at home, at a disadvantage. In fact, the centre pitch, which was covered by the groundstaff late on Friday morning, had a good grass cover. Notably, India have favoured fast-bowling conditions at home over the last few years in a bid to prepare for overseas tours. Back in 2019, when Bangladesh last visited India for a Test series, India had rolled out similar conditions. India's line-up for the two matches comprised three fast bowlers, who picked 33 wickets, and two spinners, where Ashwin picked five wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja, who bowled for only 19 overs across four innings, went wicketless. India adopted the strategy to prepare for the Australia tour the following month, and the tactic is largely likely to remain the same with Rohit and Gambhir having their main focus on the Border-Gavaskar series Down Under in December.