'Decent pitch' assured for the India v Australia Bengaluru ODI

While the 1st ODI at Chennai was one that assisted bowlers more than the batsmen, the Eden Gardens in the 2nd ODI was a perfect contest of bat vs ball. The Indore pitch in the 3rd ODI was a batsman’s paradise but it looks like the next ODI will be back to focusing on proper contests between the willow and the kookaburra. The Karnataka State Cricket Association will roll out a “decent ODI pitch” for the fourth one-dayer between India and Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.

The pitch at Eden Gardens and the Chinnaswamy Stadium were both re-laid recently. Though the Kolkata pitch has turned out to be an exciting one, Bengaluru was left with a drought of runs, as we saw in the Indian Premier League. It was on the slower side and was only helping batsmen who were able to apply themselves there, however, the ground has an added advantage of short boundaries, making run-scoring a tad bit easier.

“I won’t say it will be full of runs but it will be a decent ODI pitch. It should make for an evenly-poised game,” said assistant curator Prashanth Rao was quoted by Sportstarlive. “During the IPL, although the pitch was on the slower side, teams had no complaints and we got to see good contests.”

During the IPL earlier this year, the pitch played slow in contrast to its usual nature, producing a series of low totals. In March, when India and Australia met in the second Test here, the pitch received a “below average” rating from the match referee for having variable bounce.

“We had just refurbished the pitch. That Test match perhaps came a little too early. But it still played largely true,” said Prashanth.

Following the conclusion of this ODI which will be played on 28th, the KSCA will ‘top-dress’ the pitch, as part of maintenance work. No Ranji Trophy matches will thus be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium this season as well.