Pitch No. 4 for Kolkata Knight Riders’ home match No. 3 at Eden Gardens. The franchise’s request to play on a used pitch has been turned down, RevSportz understands. It’s a different pitch that will be similar in nature to the one laid out for the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR won that game by 80 runs. They will play against Lucknow Super Giants in an afternoon fixture on Tuesday.
The SRH game was played on the heels of a nation-wide pitch debate, triggered by Eden curator Sujan Mukherjee’s reaction to RevSportz, vis-á-vis KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane’s comment at the press conference after his team’s loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It is learnt that the KKR management was happy with the way the surface played out against Pat Cummins & Co. and requested Mukherjee to give them the same strip for the LSG game. They aren’t going to get it.
“First up, as per the IPL guidelines, a seven-day gap is required in terms of using a pitch from one game to another,” said a source in the know. “But even if it was possible to play on the same pitch, it was never going to be used for the LSG game. A used pitch in this heat is high-risk. Pitch No. 4 will be used instead.”
RevSportz understands that the strip for the LSG game could be a tad sluggish in nature, a la the SRH match. It will offer a bit of turn but nothing drastic. “It will have something for everyone if the players are up to it,” said the source.
Shahbaz Ahmed, the Bengal all-rounder, who plays for LSG in the IPL, dittoed. “Ball thoda rukega yehan pe (the ball will stop a bit here),” he said at the pre-match press conference. “There will be turn. At the same time, run-scoring is possible as well.” For context, Shahbaz knows Eden like the back of his hand.
Even in the last game, KKR posted 200/6, including 65 runs in the last four overs of their innings. And their fast bowlers accounted for six opposition wickets. SRH had a bad day at the office.
Was Mukherjee under pressure to prepare a pitch of KKR’s choice in the previous game? Was there a directive from the Cricket Association of Bengal brass? The answer is no. The curator always has a free hand in terms of preparing pitches at Eden – the most storied cricket venue in the country. It hasn’t changed.
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