Ahead of the Test, Kotla wicket in a salty soup

[Stuge]

It has been almost two years since a substandard pitch in December 2009 led to the ban on Ferozshah Kotla as an international venue. Yet, the Delhi cricket authorities haven't been able to find the 'right mix'. With Kotla set to host its first Test after the ban was revoked, all eyes are on whether the track will last full five days. It had hosted one-dayers, during the World Cup and the recent ODI against England. For the DDCA it is the soil this time. It had been struggling till late with the excess level of salt and lime, both of which impede the growth of grass and deter the binding of the track. Both these can lead to a crumbling and substandard wicket, according to experts. "We have been watering the track a lot to wash the salt away," Chetan Chauhan, chairman of the pitch committee, told HT. The problem began when DDCA, while assessing the wicket for the new season, summoned Raj Kumar Sharma from Himachal Pradesh as their first choice curator from Rajkot wasn't made available by the Saurashtra Cricket Association. "He recommended changes, including that of soil," said Anil Jain, a member of the pitch committee. "I found the content of cow dung high in the soil they were using, so I asked them to get it from Hissar, which had a larger clay content. The cow dung would have deterred the binding of the track," Raj Kumar Sharma told HT. As many as 18 truckloads were ordered from Hissar. But Chauhan was away in Australia then. When he returned, he consulted Om Prakash Yadav, another curator and supplier of soil. Yadav rejected the Hissar soil. A fresh consignment was ordered from Nuh-Firozpur area of Haryana to be put on the wicket. The Hissar soil, which is believed to have cost between R 2-3 lakh, is now lying dumped within the Kotla premises. "The new soil has a larger clay content, close to 70%," said Chauhan. However, the test reports threw up another problem. The content of salt and lime was too high. And now the DDCA has been desperately trying to 'wash it clean'

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ahead-of-the-Test-Kotla-wicket-in-a-salty-soup/H1-Article1-764525.aspx

[rkt.india]

But wicket was decently good and sporty against England in ODI. They should have played test on the same track as it is tried and tested successfully.

[BeautifulGame]

Why cant we have a group of national curators organizing and advising these things for test matches.

[saneindian]

Crumbling and substandard..Ashwin and Ojha would love reading this.

[vayuu1]

So would bishoo.

[Trichromatic]

Crumbling and substandard..Ashwin and Ojha would love reading this.

A good track with enough zip and bounce can also help them. They don't always need a pitch which crumbles on day 1

[carnish]

I hope the delhi wicket doesnot get banned again... plz god y isnt the bcci spending some money

[MCcricket]

What an embarrassment ,the retards who run DDCA.they can't get the pitch right for ages.

[Spiderguy252]

Morons, them politicians. Delhi's wicket is always pathetic.

[nikred]

This pitch is full of sh!t.....literally. :headshake:

[yadhav500]

Is there a danger of the curator preparing a pitch favoring the windies??

[IKnowU]

What an embarrassment ' date='the retards who run DDCA.they can't get the pitch right for ages.[/quote'] This is why they cant get it right. You cant just throw money at a problem and make it go away.

[Manny_Pacquiao]

kotla might be the only pitch that produces a result.

[Manny_Pacquiao]

What an awful pitch ! what is the point of playing 2 seamers on this wicket? ball doesnt carry even when the bowlers' are bending their backs and hitting the deck hard, the batsmen have so much time to adjust. the spinners will get slow turn and will need to bowl plenty of overs to get batsmen out. pitches like these stall the progress of indian bowlers by several months.

[Sachinism]

Horrid pitch. Should've played R Sharma as well

[Sir john]

ball not carrying to slip. kotla :facepalm:

[rkt.india]

pitch against england in odi was so good with bounce. dont know what happened in a month

[maniac]

pitch against england in odi was so good with bounce. dont know what happened in a month

Are yaar....It's all fair....This is the right approach to regain no1.....Smash WI on turners,Give young fast bowlers enough exposure at test level and then go all out against Aussies, Our batting has enough experience to adjust from these pitches to Australia,So it's all good don't panic

[b555]

sasta ground hain yaar har baar yhiin mazaak >.

[BeautifulGame]

well atleast taking some spin.