AHMEDABAD, Oct 26: The Indians gulped down the Kiwi soup served in the designer dust bowl at Kanpur to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. After which, Indian manager Kapil Dev smacked his lips and said, "This is just the beginning". With the starters over, the Indians seemed to be in a mood to feast. But a look at the wicket at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera - the venue of the third Test starting on Friday - might make the Indians lose their appetite. The fare here has more than a dash of green, substantially solid with barely visible cracks. As far as the Indians are concerned, that's exactly what the doctor didn't order.But it's still early days; the Indian team is expected on the ground on Wednesday and there are two days to go for the Test. And wickets do change colour overnight, though curator Dhiraj Parsana says so far he has received no instructions to change the surface nor is he likely to entertain any such request in the future.The pitch at this stage is a lot different from the Chotelal special at Kanpur. The Green Revolution can be understood if one knows that Parsana is a former left arm paceman. Currently, he is part of the high-powered pitch committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.Realising the back-breaking effort required from a bowler at home, he has done his bit for his comrades-in-arms by providing them a green sporting carpet. "It's time the fast bowlers get a level playing field," he says.Defining "sporting", Parsana says, "Early in the day, it will help the pace bowlers and later spinners. Midway through the Test, it will develop a slow turn." Completely ruling out crumbling or opening up of cracks, he says, "The pitch is made by a combination of three soils - red, black, yellow. It will hold all five days."About the pressure he expects in coming days to make changes in the pitch, he says, "It is impossible to change the basic nature of a wicket at such a late stage."Parsana may decide to hold his ground, but the ground realities will become clear only on Friday when the ball starts rolling.
