Kotla ready for big date

When the West Indies take on South Africa in their World Cup opener on Thursday,it will be the first international game at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium since the infamous India-Sri Lanka ODI match in December 2009 that was called off due to an unplayable pitch.

When the West Indies take on South Africa in their World Cup opener on Thursday,it will be the first international game at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium since the infamous India-Sri Lanka ODI match in December 2009 that was called off due to an unplayable pitch.

Gearing up for the big occasion,the Kotla – which means fortress – lived up to its name on Monday. There were policemen posted along the sloping tiers,clearing rooms,a labrador sniffing for bombs,volunteers scurrying about and commandos keeping a suspicious eye on the workers who were swabbing,buffing and polishing.

These are only final touches. There are some things that can only be done just a few days before the game, said DDCA vice president,Chetan Chauhan. Everything that could be in order was in order. We have no fears right now.

India has only one match in Delhi,and so while the tickets for Thursdays game,which went on sale last Saturday,will probably not sell out,Chauhan says he is expecting a fair-size crowd to show up.

But the focus of attention of everybody at the stadium was the pitch. Guarded by armed guards along its perimeter,curator Radhey Shyam Sharma was seen riding the motorised lawn mower in studied circles around the lush green outfield. Alongside him,BCCI grounds and wickets committee chairman Venkat Sundaram appeared to study the pitch carefully while ICC chief pitch consultant Andy Atkinson pressed his knuckle into the turf as if to gauge whether it had any of the vicious bounce that saw the ground getting banned for one year.

The duos work to redeem the pitch and Kotlas reputation seems to have paid off. The pitch though has gone through some severe testing in the run-up to the first World Cup game,and if the two Ranji games held here this season are any indication,it will be a belter.

Of the four completed innings,two saw scores above 450 and another inning yielding 437 runs.

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Indeed Sundaram and Atkinson aver that the pitch and the ground will be all right. But for all the good vibes,the rain could prove to be a dampener. However,Sundaram and Atkinson believe the giant covers imported from the USA have done their job. This is like being back at home. It is a bit like making pitches in England, Atkinson joked.

If we get more sunshine then there should be no problem whatsoever, he added.

Sundaram though was not taking any risks. With the sun going down he pulled up long dry cloths and arranged them one by one to cover the playing surface. The groundstaff completed the task by pulling over the giant cover over the inner circle. Sundaram and Atkinson walked off the field,their job for the day over.

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