With the rain around, Eden Gardens wicket to be on the slower side

The rains seem to be following the ongoing ODI series against India and Australia. Kolkata has received a lot of ran in the last one week and if it persists, the wicket will be on the slower side for the 2nd ODI according to East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick. The ODI is scheduled for Thursday and the forecast doesn’t look too promising.

It rained quite a lot of Monday which prompted the ground staff to keep the pitch under covers the entire evening. If it continues to be the same for the next two days, the pitch will not be a hard one because of keeping it under covers hence the ball will come slower onto the bat.

“If it pours, the way it did today (Monday), and we have to keep the pitch under covers, the ball will come onto the bat slow,” Bhowmick said. Former India captain and the current Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly was seen giving instructions to the ground staff. He is working hard in order to get the ground ready for the game on Thursday.

Chief curator of the Eden Gardens, Sujan Mukherjee said that the wicket will be balanced for both batsmen and bowlers. “The wicket will help both batsmen and bowlers. We are ready and conditions are ideal for one-day cricket,” Mukherjee said.

The first ODI was also marred by rain after India finished on 281 for 7 after playing out their quota of 50 overs. In the innings break, heavy showers reduced the chase to a 21-overs one. The visiting team’s target was revised to 164 but India bowlers stuck to their guns and won the game by a comfortable margin of 26 runs in Chennai.

Steve Smith and his boys have to quickly turn it around in Kolkata, weather permitting.