Cold Welcome For Teams
Kumar Sangakkara led the way for Sri Lanka in the first T20
As India and Sri Lanka teams arrived in Chandigarh to prepare for the second match, the hosts will be looking to square the series. But the islanders, buoyed by their win in Nagpur, will be keen to keep the momentum ahead of the ODI series.
With two members each from both the international squads playing for the PCA Stadium-based Kings XI Punjab IPL team, the pitch won’t spring a surprise. While Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will pass on the information for the visitors, the Indians will seek advice from Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth.
The dew factor will play a part in the second T20 match where the hosts will be desperate to turn around their fortunes after their lacklustre performance in the first tie.
The PCA’s chief pitch curator Daljeet Singh, however, felt his team had enough expertise to control the tough conditions.
He said the conditions would be different from Nagpur.
“It’s a bit colder here and the possibility of dew will increase if the night is clear. We will use the ASPA-80 chemical to negate the dew affect,” he said.
Being the first Twenty20 International being hosted in this ground, Singh assured that the behaviour of the pitch would be like the traditional Mohali wicket. “The pitch being lively will support the fast bowlers,” said Singh. “It will have pace and carry but conditions can change after sunset. We will leave some grass on the pitch.”
The track being readied for the Twenty20 match is the same that was used in the recently drawn Ranji match between Punjab and Hyderabad.
He also refused to draw comparisons with the IPL matches held here during the first season. “Those matches were played in summer. It’s winter now and the conditions have changed,” he added.
Meanwhile, after arriving here on Thursday evening for the second Twenty20 international scheduled for Saturday, India celebrated their recently attained number-one spot in Test cricket by cutting a cake at the team hotel.
Sri Lanka won the first Twenty20 international match by 29 runs at Nagpur on Wednesday.
