Everyone would have enjoyed the run-feasts on offer in the first two ODIs but come Delhi and the Ferozeshah Kotla on Saturday, things may just turn out to be very different. For, the track at the Kotla will be a testing one at the very least if one goes by what happened during the Champions League T20 when the scores got lower as the pitch got slower.
On such surfaces, the team winning the toss normally tends to bat first, but here again the dew factor will have to be considered. If the dew does come down, the ball will come on nicely, far better than on a normal slow wicket, and allow the batsmen to make merry.
In any case, the Indians can use the local knowledge that Sehwag, Gambhir and Nehra can offer. Having played a lot of their cricket at that venue, they will know the conditions in and out, even if the newly laid pitches continue to befuddle them.
The Aussies, for their part, can count on Bollinger — who bowled on those tracks during the CL T20 — for inputs. Cameron White, who led the Victorian Bushrangers, too will be able to offer advice.
Of course, given that there has been some time now for the ground staff to prepare the wicket, who knows what to expect. If the conditions in Delhi turn out to be bowling-friendly, then the pressure on the bowlers to deliver will be a lot more than it was at Vadodara and Nagpur. The trick on such surfaces is to bowl wicket to wicket, which will make run-scoring tough, and result in wickets.
{{/usCountry}}Of course, given that there has been some time now for the ground staff to prepare the wicket, who knows what to expect. If the conditions in Delhi turn out to be bowling-friendly, then the pressure on the bowlers to deliver will be a lot more than it was at Vadodara and Nagpur. The trick on such surfaces is to bowl wicket to wicket, which will make run-scoring tough, and result in wickets.
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