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The Surfer

From slow-low to a belter

Over 400 runs were blasted at the Feroze Shah Kotla in the IPL game between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab on Saturday

Akhila Ranganna
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Over 400 runs were blasted at the Feroze Shah Kotla in the IPL game between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. Indranil Basu and Devadyuti Das in the Times of India track how the pitch at the Kotla was transformed from a much-criticised one and a frustration for for batsmen to a belter.
But how did the usually low-slow Kotla, so frustrating for batsmen, become a belter? It's because Saturday's game was played on a side track and not one of the three centre wickets. The centre strips are bare without a speck of grass and have been low and sluggish ever since they have been re-laid in 2010. "The grass just refuses to grow on the centre wickets. It could be because of the layer of soil underneath or due to wear and tear. Wickets on either side have a healthy coverage of grass," DDCA's grounds and pitches committee chairman Venkat Sundaram said.

Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo