Honestly, my cricket buddies kept arguing about how the pitch at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium would play this season. Just armchair experts, you know? So I figured, screw the guesswork – let’s find out for real. Grabbed my camera, notebook, and literally drove down to the stadium yesterday morning.
First Impressions & Meeting the Groundskeepers
Parked near Gate 3 and walked straight to the pitch area. Sun was already beating down hard. Spotted the head groundsman, Rajesh, watering the outer patches. Asked him point-blank: “Boss, what’s cooking here for the season?” Took some convincing, but finally got him talking over chai.
He showed me three main pitches being prepped. Kneeled down with him, pressed my palm against the surface. Dry as stale bread. Felt rough too – way coarser than last year. Rajesh grumbled about less rainfall messing up soil prep. Even kicked at some cracked patches near the crease area. Dust flew up like brown smoke.
Grass & Cracks Inspection
Got my face real close to check grass coverage. Barely any! Just patchy green fuzz, like a balding head. Snapped pics of the cracks – some jagged lines running towards mid-off. Rajesh warned: “Early morning matches? Seamers will love this.” Made sense. Without decent grass cover, those cracks would open up faster once bowling starts.
His big tips:
- First session batters better tighten their damn defense – ball will nip around.
- Spinners stay patient till afternoon – surface needs sun to break up properly.
- High run-chases? Forget it. Pitch will crumble under lights.
Honestly? Last time I trusted public opinions on this pitch. Ended up betting big money on a high-scoring game. Pitch turned swampy from unexpected rain. Watched my boy Hardik play like a lost puppy, scoring 12 off 30 balls. Lost 500 bucks that night drinking cheap rum to cope.
Final Notes & Reality Check
Poked the pitch one last time with my keys before leaving. Top layer flaked off like old paint. Rajesh shook his head – said curators tried rolling it wet to bind the surface, but heat baked it stiff. Final tip? Toss-winning captains better bowl first. Period.
Left feeling smug. While others Google theories, I’m here scraping dirt under my nails. Still owe Rajesh two more chais for next month’s updates though.
