Himalayauk himalaya Gaurav Uttarakhand
After the playing surfaces at Cuttack and Pune conspired to produce 1453 runs in the first two ODIs of the India-England series, it wasn’t far-fetched to expect another run fest at the Eden Gardens for the third ODI, even as the series had been decided. So it was. Another 637 runs were scored in Kolkata, but the pitch could not be blamed for it.
Earlier in the series, the lower bounce from good length and lack of any sideways movement meant that batsmen could throw caution to the wind once they were set, and bring all their might to bear on the cricket ball. Virat Kohli said after India came within a swing of the bat from clinching the series 3-0 that the moment he saw the pitch (before the match), he “thought it was the perfect scenario [to test his side in preparation] for the Champions Trophy”, considering the tournament is to be held in England and the pitches there would provide more assistance to the seamers.
The first two ODIs yielded in excess of 350 runs to the side batting first, and England, who were inserted in first, were only able to pile on 321 runs. The track in Kolkata was quite un-Indian and unlike the two dished out earlier in the series; it had pace, bounce and a bit of seam assistance to the pacers. There was sufficient help for the quick bowlers willing to pitch it at good length – roughly 6-8 m from the stumps – that negated to a large part attempts by batsmen to hit through the line of the delivery.
