Rasikbhai Makwana, the curator for almost 35 years at the Rajkot Stadium, has never faced so many questions in his career. In all his years of preparing wickets around Gujarat, mainly in Rajkot, Rasikbhai’s authority has remained unquestioned.This time around, too, Rasikbhai has once again done a neat job of the wicket for the East-North tie. But he’s being repeatedly asked one question: Did anybody specify this kind of a wicket, particularly for this match?There is no green tinge on the track at the Rajkot Stadium. There’s only a green layer that awaits Sourav Ganguly, who will be playing one of the most important domestic matches of his life, here.Ganguly came to the Rajkot Stadium on Wednesday, batted for around 20 minutes, bowled for the same amount of time, did some workout and before leaving, he did what typically could be expected of him. He then walked up to the wicket, took a close look at the greenery and told Rasikbhai: ‘‘Good job.’’ Whatever Ganguly feels about the wicket, there’s no doubt that the North Zone fast bowlers — VRV Singh, Gagandeep Singh, Joginder Sharma and Amit Mishra — are rubbing their hands in anticipation. They know the reputation that is at stake here; a former India captain is battling for his place in the side.Nevertheless, Ganguly has often been the king of comebacks, and on several occasions allowed himself to prosper in the domestic circuit whenever his batting was questioned in the past. Who wins this battle remains to be seen but one thing is clear: sleepy Rajkot is going to see some fast, fiery bowling.
