IND vs NZ: Pitch Curator Assures That The Jaipur Pitch Will Be High Scoring

After India's crash out of the T20 World Cup 2021 in the Super 12 stage and New Zealand's disheartening defeat in the finals, we are all set for New Zealand's tour of India, in which 3 T20Is and 1 test is to be played. 

The first T20I match would be played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. This venue is getting to host an international T20 match for the first time. India played its last international game at Jaipur 8 years ago. Nevertheless, Indians have an excellent record at Jaipur - 8 wins in 12 ODIs and 1 drawn test. 

It is noteworthy that boundaries are bigger at this venue. It is also the home ground of Rajasthan Royals, the IPL franchise. Jaipur has been a fortress for both Royals as well as the Indians. Rohit Sharma would be leading the Indian side as 'permanent' captain for the first time while this would also be Rahul Dravid's first match as the head coach of the Indian team. 

According to a report by TOI, Central Zone pitch curator Taposh Chatterjee said that the staff was aware of the match date and made sure that the pitch doesn't get slow. He also said that domestic games were hosted at the venue to ensure the proper testing of the pitch. 

“As we were aware of the match date, we have protected the pitch from overuse and underuse to ensure the juice remains and the pitch is not slow. It has been tested during Colvin Shield, Under-19 matches, practice matches for the senior state team and senior women challenger trophy,” the central zone pitch curator Taposh Chatterjee said. 

Meanwhile, Taposh also opened up about the reason for using the 5th strip for the game. He mentioned that the dressing room would be more properly visible from the 5th strip, and since only one game has to be played, it is manageable, whereas in the IPL, it's not possible to use the same strip for every match and amount of maintenance would not be possible. 

“The simple reason behind using the fifth strip was to make sure that the seats are not killed and the dressing room is easily visible. These permutations and combinations have to be kept in mind. Since it is only one match, we could make it possible. During the IPL, we invariably have to keep rotating the wickets to avoid overuse,” he added.

India will take on New Zealand in the first T20I match in the series of 3 on 17th November, at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in the 'pink city' of Jaipur.