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How will the Eden Gardens Behave in the Upcoming India New Zealand Encounter

Reports from IANS suggest that a senior Indian team official has asked a top official of the Cricket Association of Bengal to prune the grass off the Eden Gardens pitch. This report has surfaced in the backdrop of the claims made by the Indian head coach Anil Kumble that the team is not worried about the Eden Gardens wicket for the second test against the Kiwis which begins on Friday. Kumble emphatically claimed that the host team can adapt to any condition. In a statement, Kumble said, “I’ve already said that we have the team to encounter any challenge and adapt to whatever conditions we get. We are not really worried too much about the pitch. We have all our bases covered.”

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Picture Credit: kolkatapages.com

The Indian team held a two-hour net session at Eden Gardens on 28th September in the afternoon. R. Ashwin, who played exceedingly well in the first Test of the series was absent. Other absentees were Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami.

Meanwhile, Wriddhiman Saha, Amit Mishra, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane all had batting practice at the nets.

According to PTI reports, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) chief and former India captain, Saurav Ganguly on Tuesday said the Eden track which is moisture-laden may take some time to help the Indian spinners during the second Test against the Kiwis on Friday. Ganguly in his statement said, “It won’t turn from day one. This is the first match of the season on this wicket. There’s moisture still left on the pitch so it will depend on the amount of the sunshine it gets. But there will be spin as the match progresses.”

The second Test will be played on an untested wicket. Curator Sujan Mukherjee said that there is nothing to worry about as the wicket is in good condition. Mukherjee added, “The wicket is in good condition. We just need some sunshine to prepare the wicket through rolling. The grass has been trimmed. This will not be the first time we will have to go through this sort of a situation. The Test in Kanpur is also being played on a fresh wicket. But I can assure you our wicket will be better than the one at Green Park.”

Eden Gardens, which has a seating capacity of 66,000, is the largest cricket stadium in India, and the second-largest cricket stadium in the world with the Melbourne Cricket Ground being the largest. The first test played in this ground was between India and England (5-8 January 1934).The last test played in this ground was between India and West Indies (6-8 November 2013). This historic cricket ground is now geared up to see this exciting encounter between the hosts and New Zealand and the pitch as always will play a crucial factor in the final outcome of the game.

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