Ground staff and administrators at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru are engaged in a race against time as they try to ready the pitch before the second Test between India and South Africa.
The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, which has given good rains over Bengaluru, hampered pitch preparations at M Chinnaswamy. There have been a couple of rain interruptions in four days so far. As a result, preparations are running behind schedule. Moreover, a fresh system can be seen brewing in the Bay of Bengal, and is likely to affect Bengaluru in coming days.
However, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is giving it everything. An overhead waterproof cover has been installed to ensure that work continues despite rain. The number of people working on the pitch and outfield has also been increased.
The pitch has remained under cover for long now. This means that a lot of moisture currently blankets the pitch. While artificial means of drying the pitch will be employed, nothing comes close to the natural drying effect of sunshine.
The Mohali track supported spin bowling, as India registered a thumping victory, riding on the heroics of Jadeja, Ashwin, and Mishra. But different things were expected from the strip at Bengaluru. Even the ground staff hopes to provide a pitch where batsmen can make merry and aren’t just bullied by the slow ball bowlers.
However, with prevailing weather conditions, it is hard to say that the pitch will be evenly balanced. Reverse swing will come into play and the morning session will test the opening batsmen from either sides. All this due to lack of sufficient sunshine and repeated spells of rain. To sum it up, seam and swing might be the way to go during Bengaluru Test.
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