Prabir Mukherjee has seen and done it all. Eighty-five years now, the
Eden Gardens pitch curator has been handling the track at the most
revered of Indian stadiums for almost 40 years. He was in the news less
than three years ago when India wanted a pitch that would take a lot of
turn and he held on to his beliefs and produced a pitch that was hard
and even. India played England soon after, and lost. Much was said and
written about the game and whether home captains need to have a say in
how the pitches were going to play, but Mukherjee stood firm.
Now,
with India playing their first T20I at Eden Gardens since
October 2011,
Mukherjee says he and his team have prepared a pitch that is perfect
for T20 cricket. "It is a T20 game and people come to enjoy the match.
The pitch was made with this is mind. We tried our best and it looks
good. The pitch looks nice and everything is set. However, it depends on
the weather conditions, the air and the players, too. It depends how
they take it."
So, does that mean a lot of runs in the third
T20I? "Yes!" he says emphatically. "Otherwise, it's no fun in T20
cricket (Laughs). It's a wicket where 200 runs can be scored in an
inning."
MS Dhoni and Co. have been speaking extensively about the
dew factor and how it has influenced their team selection and the
performance of their bowlers. Mukherjee is aware of that, and says they
will do everything possible to keep it down. "We have and will use
medicine [sic] to reduce the dew on the ground. There will also be
mopping done to ensure it doesn't affect the game. Everything will be
done to make sure dew is as minimal as possible."
Being a veteran
in the field, Mukherjee has learnt everything there is to pitch making.
He says becoming a curator happened automatically as he has been in and
around Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and Eden Gardens for close to
40 years. Does he have a favourite game, though? "No, I have been here
almost 40 years and soon became a curator. Having been around for so
long, it's hard to pick a favourite."
Well, the pitch is set for an entertaining T20 game. It's up to the players, now.
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