 "Green Park Stadium pitch report: WIll it spin or assist pacers? Image: PTI")
What sort of pitch can we expect in Kanpur for the second India-Bangladesh Test? At Chennai, we got a red soil pitch that offered bounce and carry as 17 wickets fell on Day 2. In Kanpur, conditions can change drastically for Team India and Bangladesh. India won the first Test by 280 runs and Bangladesh are fighting for survival in the final match of the series.
Black soil pitch in Kanpur
Kanpur is known for spin-friendly pitches that offer low bounce. It has also been reported that Kanpur will have a black-soil spin-friendly pitch, however, a separate red-soil pitch has also been made and the final decision will be made by Team India management.
Read: Kohli, Rohit sweat it out in Kanpur as India aim to spin out Bangladesh
Veteran sports journalist Vimal Kumar reported for Firstpost that the pitch at Kanpur is expected to be “spin-friendly with low bounce.”
The Green Park Stadium curator Shiv Kumar, however, told news agency PTI that the Kanpur pitch will have the “Chennai match feeling” with bounce and carry for the pacers. That, however, will only be possible if the red-soil pitch is selected.
“There will be that Chennai match feeling. It will have something for everyone. It will offer bounce in the first two sessions and it will be pretty good for batting for the first two days. Then, the spinners will come into play on the last three days,” curator Shiv Kumar told PTI.
Where the black soil comes from?
Elaborating further on the black soil pitch made at the Green Park Stadium, a Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association official said that the black soil has been sourced from Kali Mitti village near Unnao, which is 23km from Kanpur.
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“We get this soil tested from the Indian Institute of Technology. It’s a special soil that is found near a pond in village Kali Mitti. It (bringing black soil from the village) is a practice we have been following for years,” said a UPCA official.
If India do opt for a spinning track they may also be forced to make a change to their playing XI which could see local lad Kuldeep Yadav come in for pacer Akash Yadav.