With the Indian Premier League being played across just four venues, the main challenge will be to provide quality pitches for the latter half of the tournament. A total of 70 league matches will be played in just over two months starting from March 26, with 20 matches each at Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, and 15 each at Brabourne Stadium at Churchgate, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. IPL final is on
With the Indian Premier League being played across just four venues, the main challenge will be to provide quality pitches for the latter half of the tournament. A total of 70 league matches will be played in just over two months starting from March 26, with 20 matches each at Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, and 15 each at Brabourne Stadium at Churchgate, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. IPL final is on May 29.
All four venues traditionally have good bounce and carry with pitches at the three grounds in Mumbai of red soil with the MCA Stadium in Pune using black soil in its central square. But the pitches could get slower as the tournament progresses.
“Keeping in mind precisely this issue, five pitches have been shortlisted at each venue so it gives us the freedom and flexibility to have sufficient rest between matches for individual pitches. You won’t have a pitch that is over played or under played, so we will be able to strike an optimum mix in this,” said Mumbai Cricket Association president Vijay Patil, whose association will host 55 of the 70 games.
Wankhede and DY Patil ground, which is owned by Patil, normally prepare three pitches on the centre square as it gives the best camera angle to the broadcasters. This time they have added two additional squares, which also fit in the broadcaster’s camera angle.
“The thing is, with very little cricket played, the pitches are quite fresh. There are large squares at all the three venues. They will essentially be alternated, so no pitch will host more than three to four games. So, I expect the pitches to play at its optimum throughout the tournament,” said Patil.
For the night games, the teams will be wary of the dew factor as well. That will make the toss crucial. The record at Wankhede heavily favours the team batting second. Each team will play four matches at the Wankhede and DY Patil, and three each at the Brabourne and the MCA Stadium.
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