The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Pitch will play true, says the curator

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Friday, Dec 07, 2007
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Pitch will play true, says the curator

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Bangalore: Anil Kumble had a long hard look at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch. The Indian skipper touched the surface, pressed it hard and then exchanged a few words with the groundstaff before getting back to the Indian team’s nets session that was in full swing despite an on-and-off drizzle and fading light. And as another India-Pakistan Test series wends its way to Bangalore for a much-anticipated climax, those 22-yards will be one of the key factors that will impact the result.

Happy hunting ground

In the last two Test matches played here between the two nations, Pakistan sneaked away with the last laugh. In 1987, Pakistan snatched a 16-run victory to win the five Test series 1-0 while Sunil Gavaskar in his last Test innings, gifted pathos to fans with a masterly 96 on a minefield. Later the teams clashed here in March 2005 and Pakistan scored a 168-run victory to draw the three-Test series 1-1 while India messed up a 383 run-chase in the second innings.

And now in the current series with India leading 1-0, the third Test commencing here on Saturday, has a lot at stake. So will the pitch be a minefield like the one that Gavaskar countered in 1987? “No. No way,” said Narayan Raju, chief-curator. “We don’t have under-prepared pitches any more,” he added.

Narayan declared that “it will be a true pitch that will help both batsmen and bowlers.”

Initial bounce and carry

“The fast bowlers will get some bounce and carry initially. And it won’t crumble in the final days, though on the fifth day the spinners will have assistance,” Narayan said.

Any instructions from the Indian team management? “Not yet,” Narayan said. And what about the tinge of grass on the wicket? “Right now we have more grass than what is required and so we will shorten it,” Narayan said.

But there is a catch. The pitch, in a sense is a new one, as it has been topped with soil brought in from Mandya. “It has clay content and is firm. It right now has a bit of moisture and we are waiting for the sun to come out and dry the surface a bit,” Narayan said.

The New Zealand-based Sports Turf Institute’s consultants have given their inputs in the preparation of the pitch that might well play a key role in deciding whether India notches up a Test series triumph or Pakistan flies back home with a smile. The weather meanwhile stayed damp with cold winds and a steady pitter-patter forcing the players to peer at the skies.

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