After Mumbai glue, some spray to defeat Mohali dew today

Suggested by New Zealand coach John Bracewell, the chemical was first used in 2001 during an India-South Africa match at Centurion Park. 8220;Experts suggest that it has been helpful,8221; said ICC media manager Brian Murgatroyd.

The dew, in fact, is the big factor worrying both New Zealand and Pakistan as they practiced under lights on the eve of the group match. More specifically, the amount of dew on the field once the lights are switched on.

8220;There is a blanket of dew drops on the field and it looks like it8217;s been raining,8217;8217; says Woolmer, adding, 8220;The ICC has also decided to keep extra staff along the boundary ropes, to mop the field at every break or at the fall of a wicket.8217;8217;

Apart from the dew, it8217;s 8220;the Afridis, the Razzaqs and the Khans8221; that has New Zealand wary. 8220;They8217;re very unpredictable,8217;8217; says New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming. And if dew and Pakistan8217;s X factor is out of the way, 8220;there is no reason why we cannot win here,8217;8217; says Fleming.

Fleming says his team will go all out tomorrow. 8220;All the guys are fit. Looking at the pitch, we feel it will assist the new ball bowlers in the early overs and Shane Bond and Jacob Oram should be looking forward to that. We8217;ll again be the underdogs, so that8217;s again an advantage and we8217;re ready,8217;8217; he said.

There8217;s one minor hitch, though, that the team8217;s been working on. 8220;It8217;s the batting line-up. We8217;re trying to set up an order and adjust the line-up. That is something we8217;ll have to be careful about,8217;8217; Fleming adds.

The pressure, surely, is now on Younis Khan8217;s team although New Zealand lost their last match against Sri Lanka and Pakistan won rather convincingly. 8220;Even Australia lost to the West Indies,8217;8217; says Younis. But pressure, he says, is what he loves. 8220;The more the pressure, the better it is. Or else, we tend to overlook a few things,8217;8217; he adds.

The team has decided to get over the Akhtar-Asif controversy, for now. 8220;We can8217;t do anything about not having them. So why not forget that issue for now,8217;8217; says Younis. But Mohali, unlike Jaipur, may be the first venue where the Pakistanis are likely to miss the two. The wicket looks green enough to excite fast bowlers, unlike the other venues in the tournament. 8220;The pitch looks very good. It has a lot of grass and will be helpful for fast bowlers early on,8217;8217; says Woolmer.

The luck factor, in this case, seems to be all about how this pitch will behave tomorrow.