RANCHI: Ever since the Pune pitch for the series opener started taking turn, the focus — as expected from a series in India — has been on the playing surface.
It might be unfair to predict how the 22 yards at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium will pan out before a ball is bowled. It looks like a turner, but venue curator SB Singh raised eyebrows two days ahead of the match, when he said, “We have two pitches ready. We will leave it to the officials to choose the surface. Even after the match starts, if there is an issue, we can always change the pitch in an hour.”
While it did raise eyebrows, Singh said that the presence of an extra strip was well within the norm. “This is what you call a ‘stepney’ wicket.
The ICC always asks to get another wicket ready, for adverse situations, like it happened at Feroz Shah Kotla during the Sri Lanka ODI (2009),” Singh remarked.
As per ICC’s ‘standard Test playing conditions’, if umpires find the pitch unplayable, the match can be abandoned. In the worst-case scenario, they can look at the possibility of repairing the pitch. However, Law 7.2.6 states that “if the abandonment occurs on the first scheduled day of the match, the ICC match referee shall consult with the home board with the objective of finding a way for a new match to commence on the same date and venue. Such a match may be played either on the repaired pitch or on another pitch”
But, changing the pitch once the match starts is very far-fetched. With DRS in the picture, ball-trackers are set up two days ahead of a match, and so are the cameras.
Singh — currently pursuing a PhD on pitch behaviour with BCCI’s sponsorship — though, gave away little on how the pitch will behave. With around 70 per cent black soil, Singh said the chances of it crumbling are remote. “This pitch contains kaolinite mineral. It is common on clay and reduces the chances of the pitch breaking up as the match progresses. But what will happen is that cracks will definitely open up,” he said.
Though the groundsmen did water the pitch on Tuesday afternoon, they covered it before the Indian team arrived for their practice session. It remained like that for a good two hours under the blazing sun before being watered again.
The pitch looks like it may play slow and low, unlike the track in Bengaluru, which offered bounce on Day 1, before the ball started keeping low.