Green tinge on Jamtha wicket may turn deceptive
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Nov 22
IT WAS a cloudy Wednesday morning, with the sun hiding behind a thin cover of clouds. At VCA Jamtha Stadium, around 8-10 members of groundstaff were vehemently rubbing the centre wicket with brushes under the watchful eyes of curator Pravin Hinganikar.
The wicket had a tinge of green but it was definitely not like the one at Eden Gardens.
Going by the work on the centre wicket, one can be sure of a track that will ‘assist’ the seamers when the second Test between India and Sri Lanka begins on November 24. It bodes well for the Indian pace attack, fresh from its heroics in Kolkata. But that is just one half of the story.
The Indian team management’s has asked for green
wickets for the Lanka series as preparations for the South Africa tour starting January 5 in Cape Town.
It was learnt that the think-tank has emphasised that the pitches ought to be lively greentops. The wicket at Eden Gardens was just the kind of wicket Indian management, led by coach Ravi Shastri, wanted.
The Jamtha wicket does have a cover of grass but it could at the most be deceptive. Though officials expect the track to retain a greenish tinge when the second Test begins on Friday, how much will it assist the seamers remains a question.
Jamtha wicket has recently developed a characteristic of its own — helping the seamers and then settling down for the batsmen for a majority of period. As per experts, this wicket would remain intact for entire five days, not even assisting the spinners in the later part. It definitely is no good news for R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Exactly a month ago, Vidarbha played Chhattisgarh in their Group D Ranji Trophy match at the same venue.
The game produced loads of runs. Chhattisgarh’s Amandeep Khare slammed a double ton while Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal hit his first of the three centuries this season.
The grass tinge had enticed Vidarbha to field a three-pronged pace attack. The plan proved flat on the docile deck. The positive from that game was Umesh Yadav’s six-wicket match haul. Yadav returns to the ground and is sure to make his ‘home’ debut on Friday.
However, it would not be an easy task for both teams to choose their combinations. The Sri Lankan team that had their practice session on Wednesday morning, also had a close look at the wicket. Captain Dinesh Chandimal had a lengthy chat with his team of support staff by the wicket.
Meanwhile in the middle, after brushing the sleeping blades, grass-trimmer was pressed into action to level the strip. A heavy roller put the grass in place, giving look of an ideal sprinkling of green.
How much the green lasts would be the question on both teams’ minds.
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Nov 22
IT WAS a cloudy Wednesday morning, with the sun hiding behind a thin cover of clouds. At VCA Jamtha Stadium, around 8-10 members of groundstaff were vehemently rubbing the centre wicket with brushes under the watchful eyes of curator Pravin Hinganikar.
The wicket had a tinge of green but it was definitely not like the one at Eden Gardens.
Going by the work on the centre wicket, one can be sure of a track that will ‘assist’ the seamers when the second Test between India and Sri Lanka begins on November 24. It bodes well for the Indian pace attack, fresh from its heroics in Kolkata. But that is just one half of the story.
The Indian team management’s has asked for green
wickets for the Lanka series as preparations for the South Africa tour starting January 5 in Cape Town.
It was learnt that the think-tank has emphasised that the pitches ought to be lively greentops. The wicket at Eden Gardens was just the kind of wicket Indian management, led by coach Ravi Shastri, wanted.
The Jamtha wicket does have a cover of grass but it could at the most be deceptive. Though officials expect the track to retain a greenish tinge when the second Test begins on Friday, how much will it assist the seamers remains a question.
Jamtha wicket has recently developed a characteristic of its own — helping the seamers and then settling down for the batsmen for a majority of period. As per experts, this wicket would remain intact for entire five days, not even assisting the spinners in the later part. It definitely is no good news for R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Exactly a month ago, Vidarbha played Chhattisgarh in their Group D Ranji Trophy match at the same venue.
The game produced loads of runs. Chhattisgarh’s Amandeep Khare slammed a double ton while Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal hit his first of the three centuries this season.
The grass tinge had enticed Vidarbha to field a three-pronged pace attack. The plan proved flat on the docile deck. The positive from that game was Umesh Yadav’s six-wicket match haul. Yadav returns to the ground and is sure to make his ‘home’ debut on Friday.
However, it would not be an easy task for both teams to choose their combinations. The Sri Lankan team that had their practice session on Wednesday morning, also had a close look at the wicket. Captain Dinesh Chandimal had a lengthy chat with his team of support staff by the wicket.
Meanwhile in the middle, after brushing the sleeping blades, grass-trimmer was pressed into action to level the strip. A heavy roller put the grass in place, giving look of an ideal sprinkling of green.
How much the green lasts would be the question on both teams’ minds.
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