INDORE: The India-Australia ODI series has seen tremendous workmanship from the hosts, with the likes of MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya outshining others. The other people associated with the game to have toiled a lot are the ground staff, all thanks to the rain gods.
The Chennai ODI was truncated due to the rains and the second game in Kolkata was preceded by showers, casting doubts over the encounter. The weather seems to have developed some affinity for this series, as the venue for the third ODI has also been experiencing spells of rain.
Two days before the match — which could turn out to be a decider considering India’s triumph in the first two matches — rains lashed the city until the afternoon and dark clouds loomed till the end of day. The chief pitch curator at Holkar Stadium, Samandar Singh Chouhan, said the city has experienced continuous rainfall in the last 10 days.
Asked whether it has hampered preparations, Chouhan replied, “Not really. Preparations started on August 23. We have kept the pitch protected. We even organised a two-day match from September 7 to test the wicket and I can say it’s quite good,” said the man who prepared the pitch on which Sachin Tendulkar scored the first ever double century in ODI history, in 2010.
Covers were spread over the whole ground, but for a major part of Friday, the pitch remained exposed. “The pitch needs to breathe and transpire. It should give off the moisture. It is essential to keep the grass healthy. That is why you cannot keep it under covers for a long duration.”
Chouhan was keeping a close watch on proceedings when members of the groundstaff were working on the pitch and adjoining areas.
“We have been doing this since the last week,” said a groundsman. When the clock struck 6:15 pm, the whole playing area was under covers. The staff called it a day by clapping and applauding each other.
With the teams missing out on on-field practice sessions before the previous match, they would wish for the sun to tear through those clouds on Saturday.
“Let’s hope there is no rain on Sunday (game day) and even on Saturday as the practice session is crucial,” concluded Chouhan.
There is a sense of excitement in the air and the townspeople would also be looking up to the skies, hoping the match goes on as scheduled, considering it has been almost two years since they witnessed an ODI.
vishal@newindianexpress.com