da pinup bet： Several reporters arrived in Nagpur with their heads full of dramatic thoughts about pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium and it would have been understandable had they sued for anti-climax
Anand Vasu at Nagpur25-Oct-2004
The Nagpur pitch is straw-coloured, and expected to help the batsmen© Getty Images
Several reporters arrived in Nagpur with their heads full of dramatic thoughts about pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium and it would have been understandable had they sued for anti-climax. Reports about the greenness of the pitch had nearly toppled the little big man’s tennis elbow as the main story in the sports pages. When the reporters saw it for themselves, there was grass, but it was straw-coloured, not green.Cricket associations in Indian regard the playing square as a nuclear installation and every reporter is deemed a security threat. But from adistance, the pitch looked normal: it was boringly rectangular and the distance between stumps at either end a predictable 22 yards. What’s more, there were no cracks wide enough to drop keys into, nor did it seem likely that devils would arise from beneath it on the third day.In this series so far, the pitches have come under severe scrutiny. Butapparently, the pitches haven’t been made privy to the plot, and accordingly, they have belied expectations. The earth at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore was riddled with cracks, provoking predictions that Anil Kumble would make short work of Australia. Australia ran up 474 in the first innings and pitch stayed firm till the last day. Then, on the supposedly flat MA Chidambaram stadium pitch, Kumble did take a seven-for on the first day.And now, in Nagpur, just the slightest touch of grass on the pitch has settongues wagging. The pitch looks far from frightening. There aren’t tufts ofgrass, or a consistent carpet, that could give a cricket ball, – even hurledat great speed – the exaggerated movement, vertically or horizontally, thatwill force a false shot.But what of those reams of newspaper and gallons of ink spent describing thepitch? Was it all smoke, no fire? One former Indian cricketer said, “This isa not a wicket, but might well pay like one.” A ,for the uninitiated, is a pitch that makes bowlers weep, while batsmen notchup best-ever scores and rack up records like statisticians were being bannedovernight. Even a man who will be forced to bat in the next few days laughedwhen the possibility of the pitch being green was raised. “Green-top? If youjust got your eye in, even you would make 30-40 on this pitch,” he said.When a cricketer concedes that a journalist may make the odd runon a pitch, you know that there’s nothing to fear for the real batsmen.Bring on the mullet-haired fast men. Bring on the record-breaking spinners.This is Nagpur, the city of oranges. You can eat a Jaffa here. But servingone up will be an entirely different matter.