Situated around 15 kilometers from the hub of the city, the Emerald Heights International School, the venue of the Delhi-Madhya Pradesh Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ game, comes across as a mixed bag.
While the playing area near the track is in good shape, the outfield wears an uneven look, quite like the teams’ fortunes this season.
Though occupying the top and third spot respectively, Delhi and MP didn’t start off well. The visitors managed to get three points against Haryana, but lost (also conceding a bonus point) to Gujarat. They conceded the first innings lead against Tamil Nadu, but bounced back to beat Baroda. On their part, MP lost to Baroda, took the first innings lead against Bengal and thrashed Gujarat.
The uneven outfield is a deterrent for fielders, and sliding, especially around the pavilion end, could lead to injuries. The track will be the same which was used against Gujarat. Though it looks good for batting, the patches of green at either end should help the medium pacers.
Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, who had a haul of nine wickets against Baroda, missed practice on the match eve as he reached late on Monday. Another pacer, Pradeep Sangwan, who missed the last game with injury, will bolster the attack.
{{/usCountry}}Left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, who had a haul of nine wickets against Baroda, missed practice on the match eve as he reached late on Monday. Another pacer, Pradeep Sangwan, who missed the last game with injury, will bolster the attack.
{{/usCountry}}A concern for skipper Mithun Manhas is that the openers (Unmukt Chand and Shikhar Dhawan) have failed to give decent starts. “Barring one occasion, both have not clicked, so it is a concern as a good opening stand always helps,” said Manhas.