Ranji Trophy 2015: Kotla changes stripes, turns spin friendly for Maharashtra game
DESPITE A curator’s best efforts, cricket pitches usually have a mind of their own. It is, therefore, not surprising that ahead of any domestic or international fixture, much talk usually centres around the nature of the 22-yard strip at the centre.
So, ahead of their Ranji encounter against Maharashtra at the Feroz Shah Kotla, when Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya was asked about his team’s composition, the 44-year-old said, “We may field two, or maybe even three spinners for tomorrow’s game.”
Dahiya’s candid statement did give a glimpse on the nature of the track that was on offer at the Kotla. Playing on a rank turner and fielding three spinners will have it’s own inherent advantages. More than anything, it will make both teams play aggressive cricket, go for an outright win and claim 6 points.
Maharashtra coach David Andrews reckons the dry Kotla wicket will give his side the ideal platform to kickstart their indifferent Ranji campaign. “The wicket here looks very dry… so I guess it will help our spinners. Having said that we are not complaining. It gives us a realistic chance of clinching a result,” he says.
Barely three weeks back, Delhi’s pace spearhead Ishant Sharma was scripting his success story at the Kotla. Bowling with pace and sustained hostility, the 27-year-old ran through an inept Vidarbha side, finishing with 9 wickets. That wicket at the Kotla, however, was much different to what is on offer for the match against Maharashtra. For starters, that wicket had more grass cover to it and consequently aided the fast bowlers.
When asked about the change in the nature of the Kotla wicket, a DDCA official put things in perspective.
“We had an U-23 game, which ended on November 3. Following which, we had intermittent rains the following two days which made it difficult for any work to be done on the pitch. Hence, the wicket has a dry look to it. It will be good for batting on Day 1, after which it will help the spinners,” the DDCA official says.
He adds the current nature of the track will have no bearing on the pitch that will eventually host the South Africans, who are scheduled to play their final Test match here next month. “After this Ranji fixture, we have more than three weeks to prepare the wicket for the Test match against South Africa. Obviously, since it is an important international fixture, we will have to prepare it according to what the BCCI and the Indian team wants… so we will have to wait and see what happens. Nothing is certain as of now,” he adds.
What is certain, however, is that a rank turner will greet the Maharashtra team at the Kotla on Friday.
