India vs Bangladesh: Pitch curator reveals the reasons behind the grass-coating on the Eden pitch

India will make history on Friday when they take on Bangladesh in a day-night Test match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. It is the second match of the two-Test series that the hosts are leading 1-0. Though they are firm favourites in the next Test as well, it more the situational challenges than Bangladesh that have kept the Indian fans concerned. This is the first time that both India and Bangladesh will be playing a Test match in pink ball under the lights.

The wicket at the Eden Gardens looks green and that will keep India’s in-form pace bowlers interested. In the last match, the Indian pace troika of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav claimed 14 of the 20 wickets that fell with Shami generating some serious pace. Meanwhile, Eden’s pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee has explained why they chose to keep the surface green.

“Yes, there is extra grass. It is mainly done to keep the colour of the pink ball intact for a longer period of time. I have consulted the umpires, players who were involved in the CAB league Day/Night Test a few years ago and all of them had advised to leave some extra grass,” Mukherjee was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The match will be played in pink SG ball and even the curator is not sure how the ball will behave on the wicket where the second game will be played. The first match got over inside three days and the spectators will hope that a more competitive match is seen in Kolkata.
“I haven’t seen the SG pink ball in a match so don’t know exactly how it’ll behave but I’ve heard from experts that it will swing more. Our outfield is one of the best in the world so I’m sure the pink ball will last long,” Mukherjee added.

Curator has a piece of advice for Kohli on toss

The toss is also going to be crucial in this game. In the past 41 Test matches played at the Eden Gardens, only five saw the captain winning the toss deciding to field. Out of those five occasions, India took the call thrice but failed to win any of the Test. The curator has that piece of statistics as an advice for India captain Virat Kohli.

“I would want India to field first. That would allow the batsmen to get a fair idea about the pitch and the new pink ball. The kind of bowling line-up India have, they will also relish the opportunity to bowl on a fresh wicket,” he added.

The match will start at 1.30 pm IST.

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