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Journalism of Courage
The relaid track at the Eden Gardens, the venue of the third Test between India and West Indies, would be firm and have even bounce, though rain has delayed the preparations, curator Prabir Mukherjee said here today.
‘‘We are working hard to give the public a sporting wicket where both the bowlers and batsmen will get an equal assistance. But the late monsoon showers have caused delays in the preparations,’’ he said.
The groundsmen were now giving finishing touches to the pitch, which contains grass, and vigorous rolling was being done. ‘‘Though the wicket might not be a green top, the grass in the track after the usual mowing would be allowed to remain,’’ he said.
When pointed out that in the past pitches had to be made bald before start of matches as per the wishes of various Indian captains, Mukherjee said: ‘‘I have no idea that present skipper Saurav Ganguly has made any such request.’’
He said though the wicket was untested, the ‘right’ behaviour of the practice pitches, which has been similarly re-laid, had given him the confidence that the track would be firm and have even bounce.
The BCCI has relaid the tracks of major international centres, including Eden Gardens to prepare fast, bouncy pitches, as encountered by the Indian team abroad. But the tracks at both Mumbai and Chennai, the venues of the first two Tests against the Caribbeans, were slow turners and ended in Indian wins inside four days.
Mukherjee, also member of the Groudns and Pitches Committee of the BCCI, said a newly-laid pitch would start giving the best results after six months. ‘‘The freshly prepared wickets have not had that much time,’’ he added.
He, however, discounted fears that due to the nagging rains in Kolkata, the track at Eden might be an underprepared one. ‘‘We will definitely complete the entire task in time,’’ he said.
Asked what would happen if there were more rains, Mukherjee said that the ground had very good covering arrangements.
