Dubious past, curator pitches for sporting wicket in Nagpur

The last time Ravi Shastri was in charge of the India team in Nagpur, his side was bundled out for 79 chasing 127 in a 2016 World Twenty20 game against New Zealand. The last time India played an ODI on this ground, they beat Australia despite their piling up 350.

The last time a Test was played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha, the ICC issued a warning over an underprepared pitch after the tie against South Africa ended inside three days in favour of the hosts.

Thus, despite Sunday’s final ODI against Australia being a dead rubber, all eyes will be on the pitch with fans hoping it doesn’t throw up any nasty surprise. Pitch curator Pravin Hingnikar though has assured the pitch would be sporting.

The former Vidarbha allrounder told Hindustan Times on Friday: “It will be a sporting wicket, but what’s required is the team to put runs on the board. I don’t think the toss will have a major role to play given this is a true wicket.”

Hingnikar ruled out the possibility of the game being a lowscoring one as has happened in the past few matches, stating that he expected the sides to put up at least 270-300 on the board.

NO WEATHER WORRY

NAGPUR:

Rain affected all previous games in the five-match series. But Hingnikar said there is no forecast of rain in Nagpur on Sunday. “We’ve been working on the pitch for the past 10-12 days, although we had to halt our work in between because of heavy downpour. Luckily, there is no forecast of rain; even if it does rain, we are prepared to tackle the situation given our surface and underground drainage are up to the mark. We’ll be covering the entire ground in the night just in case it rains.”