Sunil Gavaskar in the pitch report.
It looks like a very high-quality pitch. Last season, the pitch had a two-pace features to it. This one may not have that. Last few games over here have produced more than 300 runs. With the rains around, teams might want to field. Absolute beautiful pitch here at Eden Gardens," sum up Brett Lee and Kolkata is engulfed in festive fervour, gearing up for Pujo, and Kaushik informs that the stands at Eden are pretty sparsely populated at the moment. "Hardly 2-3 thousand in," he reckons. With the weather like it has been, that's not a surprise either. But if it stays clear, expect a lot more to flock in.
On the subject of wrist spin, you'd expect the duo of Kuldeep and Chahal to be included again today after their performance in the first ODI. But Kaushik tells us that he sees Shami rolling his arm over on the side wicket. "He is bowling off a couple of steps on the side wicket . Nothing exaggerated with his bowling right now," he says. So it's not much to read into. But it might be tempting to give the local lad a game, especially in these conditions.
Australia is nothing if not a proud team, and they will be aware of their abysmal recent record in overseas ODIs. With just one win in the last 10 completed away matches, they'll be out there seeking a prompt reversal in fortunes. For starters, they won't mind the track here at Eden Gardens which is said to have a generous amount of green on it. If their quicks were able to do it on that track in Chennai, this should favour them even more. It might also go a long way in checking the wrist-spin threat India possess.
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