Pitch test: A damp squib

It was meant to test the newly-laid pitch at the Kotla, but it turned out to be a damp squib. The question of Kotla’s preparedness for the India-Pakistan one-dayer on April 17 remained unanswered, particularly after today’s practice match was played on a pitch covered with a thin carpet.

But DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan blamed it on the rains that lashed the city a couple of days back. He said: ‘‘We wanted to use the pitch to test its readiness but the rains had rendered it not conducive. But having committed to hosting the match between the Bar and the judiciary, we had to honour the commitment.’’

Speaking to The Sunday Express from Mohali, Pitch and Grounds Committee chairman Venkat Sundaram said that he and his committee members were not going to judge the nature of the pitch based on what happened today. ‘‘We will see the ground realities when we visit the Kotla after the Kolkata Test before arriving at a decision.’’ He said he will be with the rest of the committee members.