A 100% black soil pitch, but it should still be a very good batting pitch with no real turn for the spinners”, Daren Ganga and Simon Katich said in their pitch report. The groundsman had told them to expect a total of 180-190. Experts can get it wrong. And we know the Ahmedabad pitch can make a mockery of punditry.
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant admitted he wasn’t all that sure how the “unknown” in the wicket would play out and inserted Gujarat Titans on Wednesday. What followed was a total contrast to the runathons we have become so accustomed to seeing in IPL. The pitch was slower, the ball gripped for the seamers and offered spin. By no means was it unplayable. However, the home side could never recalibrate the strategy.
After the powerplay they were down to 30/4, and they were 61/6 at the halfway mark before folding up for 89 in 17.3 overs. It was more the total teams had been posting inside the first six overs in recent matches by exploiting field restrictions to the maximum.
It could be said that GT batters could have tried to hit straighter. But credit to DC pacers that they bowled a fuller length throughout the early overs. But batting was hard work. As if the fans already knew, the Narendra Modi stadium wasn’t a packed house. The viewership numbers during live streaming remained low too.
Lively Pant
Tristan Stubbs came out to speak at the innings break, having been one of the productive bowlers of the day. His one over of part-time spin produced two stumpings.
Both were effected by Pant, who seemed to have returned to his best form with gloves. He took two catches too, was diving around, constantly communicating with his bowlers and giggling. No wonder the broadcast amped up the stump mic. When Kuldeep Yadav had a go at Mukesh Kumar for too strong a throw from the infield, Pant would yell ‘gussa nahin’ (don’t get angry).