Dew will be an issue, says curator

With the dew factor certain to influence Sunday’s fifth and final ODI, winning the toss could be winning half the battle, feels pitch doctor Taposh Chatterjee. Chatterjee, a member of BCCI’s Pitch and Grounds Committee, knows the strip at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, and feels bowling in the second innings could prove potentially fatal for either team. “However, we may try to counter it, dew will definitely remain a factor. Bowling in the second innings would not be easy, because it would be quite a task to even grip the ball,” Chatterjee said today, hoping Dhoni pays heed to his advice.

“The toss would be crucial and if Dhoni calls it correct, he should not have a second thought about putting Pakistan in. Batting would be relatively easier in the second innings,” he said.

Explain column, BCCI tells Vengsarkar

Mumbai: The Board today sought an explanation from chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar for continuing his newspaper column defying the Board’s ban. “We have asked for an explanation from him. That’s all,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said from Rajkot.

Vengsarkar is continuing to write a column ‘Cover Drive’ in some vernacular newspapers, notably the Marathi daily Sakal owned by the brother of BCCI president Sharad Pawar.