Cuttack: India may be on a high after their incredible three-wicket win in Pune but when they arrive here Wednesday the dew factor would certainly play on their minds ahead of the second ODI against England to be played here Thursday at the Barabati Stadium.
According to the local curator, the dew starts settling in by 5.30pm and if it does on the match day then the toss may play a determining role in favour of the side batting second.
“There has been heavy dew for last few days and we will try our best to negate it – by using chemical spray, two super-soppers and roping the field,” Pankaj Patnaik stated here Tuesday.
“The outfield grass has also been trimmed to about six millimetres from eight so that dew soaks settles and soaks into the ground,” he added.
The venue hosted its last ODI more than two years ago when India put up a record 363/5 here en route to thrashing Sri Lanka by 169 runs, November 2, 2014 to set the tone for a 5-0 clean sweep.
Virat Kohli-led India have already made their intentions clear gunning down England’s massive 351 by three wickets with 11 balls to spare in Pune and another run-feast cannot be ruled out at the Barabati.
“It’s difficult for me to predict a total but this pitch will be full of runs as it has always been in the past. It will be out an out batting track and it’s up for the batters to make it count,” Patnaik stated.
The two teams will arrive here Wednesday afternoon and train in the evening. The Indians had a light workout session at Pune while England rested.
PNN
