India v Sri Lanka: MS Dhoni inspects the Cuttack pitch ahead of first T20I

Veteran Indian cricketer, MS Dhoni, was the star attraction at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on the eve of the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka. Cuttack is all set to host the first match of the three-match T20I series. The track at Cuttack has been an untested one for almost about a year. The last time team India played at the venue, over 700 runs were scored in that ODI fixture against England in January this year.

MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh had hammered tons in that particular game. Prior to that, in the only other T20I match played at the venue, team India had bundled out for a paltry 92 against South Africa in 2015. Now, the venue is all set for its second T20I. On the eve of the match, team India had an optional training session.

MS Dhoni walked straight up to the pitch as soon as he reached the ground. He inspected the pitch for a brief while before looking content with the preparations. He then had a good net session with the bat. Meanwhile, stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma and the team head coach, Ravi Shastri, also had close look at the pitch.

Football matches played at the venue

The reason why the pitch was being inspected is the fact that there has not been any cricket of competitive sorts at the venue for quite some time. It has failed to provide big runs in the game. Also, the venue had seen some football matches played there recently.

As per the reports in TOI, the officials feel that the track will allow 180 runs to be scored. He said, “Every effort is being made to produce a sporting wicket where at least 180 runs are scored.” While Dhoni received chants of ‘Dhoni, Dhoni’ as he practised, the young guns of the team also sweated it out. All-rounder Hardik Pandya gave the session a miss, but the likes of Jaydev Unadkat and Basil Thampi bowled in the nets for long time.