The Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot is well known for being a good pitch for the batsmen and with the venue hosting the second T20I encounter between India and Bangladesh on Thursday, it seems that the nature of the pitch will not be much different. According to a report in Times of India, the groundstaff revealed that the pitch will not have any grass covering and as a result, it will be a good pitch to score runs on for the batsmen.
The match can also face some challenges as there is rain forecasted for Wednesday and Thursday due to cyclonic impact on the coast. Pitch curator Mansukhbhai Terraiya said that they are keeping the pitch under covers as precaution and authorities also made it clear that they are ready for any kind of situation during the match.
“If we have light showers in the morning of the match day, but there is no rain in the later part of the day, we are confident of having a match,” says Himanshu Shah, secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association.
“We have very good drainage facility and an experienced ground staff who are capable of handling any emergency. We are just praying the rain is not too severe,” he added.
In the event of heavy rains, the outfield may be slow and scoring runs will not be easy. “Hitting boundaries would become difficult in such a situation as the ball may not travel very fast in the outfield,’’ said Terraiya.
Their frailties in the shortest format under the scanner, India would be aiming to ensure that a plucky Bangladesh don’t run away with the momentum when the two sides clash in the second T20 International.
India lost the smog-hit opening T20 in Delhi by seven wickets on Sunday, a stunning result against a side which landed here after a players’ strike over pay and other issues and the suspension of their biggest cricketer — Shakib Al Hasan — for failure to report corrupt approaches.
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