Don?t home teams choose their surface?
The issue, after all the talk in Nagpur is: Did the pitch extinguish hopes of India's victory or did it contribute to defeat? ponders Amrit Mathur.
I remember asking the chief groundsman at Lord's if the English captain had a say in wicket-preparation.
He gave me a look that could freeze a volcano and replied as if he was addressing a seriously cricket-challenged person. Each word was spoken with great emphasis, and he said, "Mate, my job is to make the wicket and his job is to play."
The issue, after all the halla, from Nagpur is: Did the pitch merely extinguish hopes of India's victory or did it contribute to defeat?
Before a match in India, the drama surrounding the wicket is almost comic. The pitch becomes an object of suspicion and apprehension,
In Nagpur the pitch received more attention than Sachin Tendulkar returning from injury.
The curator of the VCA stadium, visibly enjoying his 15 minutes of fame, gave a stream of interviews. And even as he stared into TV cameras to reveal the secrets of the pitch, experts examined the surface like crime scene investigators, spun out opinion and constructed their own theories.
Players also get caught up in this pre-match ritual around the wicket.
