Ganguly convinces curator to shave pitch

The green Nagpur pitch is likely to be shaved bare before the start of the third Test, The Indian Express has reported. Kishore Pradhan, the curator at the ground, said that Ganguly convinced him that a grassless pitch would give India a better chance.

"He explained to me the difference between the Indian and Australian teams and their respective strengths and weaknesses, as also the position of the series. And he requested me to shave off the grass one last time," said Pradhan. "I would have done one last mowing in any case, but his request convinced me. Till the mud beneath doesn't get caught in the machine, we will continue. I will not let the wicket break. It will remain a sporting wicket."

This was a come-down from Pradhan's earlier stance of not shaving the wicket. The green look of the track had forced John Wright to state that his expectations from the Indian batsmen would be fairly modest if they were asked to bat first. "It will be similar to jute wickets and help pace bowlers and the batsmen," Wright had said. "I would be most happy with a score of 250 for 6 or 8 on day one." However, if most of the grass is shaved off before the game gets underway, chances are that neither captain will be happy with such a score after the first day.