JAISURYA takes evasive action against a Zaheer snorter which climbs from a good length on the fourth ball of the third over. Dilshan doubles up in pain after he is poleaxed by a Zaheer lifter which catches the batter in his chest on the second ball of the 10th over. It is an ugly sight. Sudeep Tyagi flier on the final ball of the 12th over has Jaisurya unsure of the climbing delivery.
These are a few instances of the inconsistent bounce on the Kotla wicket. There are many others where the ball practically shoots along the ground, inconveniencing the wicket keeper Dhoni behind the stumps.
Delhi hasn’t played a single Ranji game on its home ground the Kotla because it is unsure of the wicket and the tricks that it could play. They play at Roshanara or Palam grounds instead.
Unseasonal rain in the capital has impacted pitch preparation, but long serving curator Radhey Shyam has been replaced by a powerful DDCA member Vijay Bahadhur Mishra who is a manufacturer of kit bags. For the record, he along with other members of the pitch and ground committee resigned in the wake of the disaster. Former Test opener Chetan Chauhan was the chairman of this committee. As an opening batsman of repute himself, Chauhan should have had a better understanding of the dangers of playing on a ‘overprepared ‘ wicket like this. But the lure of lucre was so high that they decided to play a game on December 27 for the very first time since the international against the Aussies on October 31. Nearly two months went by without any cricket on this wicket.
Why did the BCCI allot this one day international to DDCA knowing fully well that Delhi is not playing its Ranji games on the ground? Everyone knew that the pitch was suspect after the low scoring games during the T 20 Champions League. And what pray was Daljit Singh the chief curator of the BCCI doing about all this? The blame game has begun with the DDCA trying to palm off the buck to the BCCI’s Technical Committee. But that was expected, for DDCA officials are known to be shameless.
The T 20 Champions League matches see unpredictable and varying bounce as the matches produce very low scores. Australia plays India in a one dayer on October 31 and it is business as usual. Against this backdrop India play Lanka in a dead rubber and it takes over 23 overs to call off the match. That too only after Kumar Sangakarra has seen enough. And what pray was the match referee Alan Hurst doing all this while. Playing tiddlywinks in the pavilion. It is only after Sangakarra rushed to the centre to prevent any grievous bodily harm and damage to his players did Hurst make an appearance. Delhi is to play host to four 2011 World Cup matches and a match abandonment could result in a 12 to 24 month ban on the Kotla.
In any case the DDCA is known as a den of vices. It has a lousy reputation. Earlier this year, we saw Delhi captain Virender Sehwag threatening to quit and go over to Haryana since he was unhappy with the conduct of the DDCA officials. DDCA president Arun Jaitley makes light of the insurrection and papers over the matter by convincing Viru that ‘aal izz well’. On Monday, recriminations continue as the ICC demands action from the BCCI. Sports minister MS Gill terms the entire Kotla pitch fiasco as a “great embarrassment” and says the BCCI and the DDCA owe an explanation to the country for the abandonment of the game. “It is very unfortunate and a great embarrassment for the country. It should not have happened. I watched the match a bit on TV and it was terrible to see such an incident taking place,” Gill said.
What can I say, all those who are in-charge of cricket nationally and state-wise can only answer on the issue,” he added. A stinging indictment of the BCCI and the sense of fierce individualism that it displays. Registered under the Societies Act, it is nothing more than a private cosy club. It does pretty much as it pleases as it has shown recently by not signing the Wada whereabouts clause. No diktat works against the BCCI. So, when the shoe is finally on the other foot, to use an age old adage, it is really pinching. And all its critics are flaying it sensing an opportunity.
Now let us look at the DDCA’s response system. Yes, it has finally managed to build a fancy stadium complete with lights. But what good is a stadium if the cricket pitch is unfit to play? What good is a pitch and a stadium if its own state team refuses to play Ranji Trophy on it? Allegations of mismanagement have abounded all this while. Critics and detractors have now got a genuine handle. Arun Jaitley’s response is so ineffectual and weak that it is laughable. Please read the following: “DDCA regrets the inconvenience caused to all spectators and others. We offer our apologies to them. All gate tickets will be refunded. A detailed announcement in this regard will be made shortly.”
On Monday morning local papers have issued an advertisement on how the tickets can be refunded. Mr Jaitley you have egg on your face. But one cannot criticise the DDCA alone. It is the system whereby the BCCI pays large sums of money to staging associations from its revenues to upgrade facilities. Further every international game brings large revenues to the same staging associations. It is simply you scratch my back, I scratch yours that works seamlessly within the sanctum sanctorum of the BCCI. The least that the BCCI can do is prepare honest pitches. The first couple of games against Lanka saw huge scores being run on ‘patta’ wickets. Then we saw two slightly more sporting wickets which saw the Sri Lankans floundering. In the end we had this disaster at Delhi as the capital made its latest tryst with shame.
Crowd trouble normally associated with Kolkata also reared its ugly hydra head. I don’t really blame the spectators who paid good maoney to arrive at Kotla on a Sunday. And then they found they were cheated out of a full game. Spectators hurled water bottles and broken chairs onto the ground.
Putting a question mark over Kotla’s prospect as a 2011 World Cup venue since a similar incident 12 years ago had invited a brief ban for the Nehru Stadium in Indore.
Jaitley has expressed shock over the pitch. Did somebody tell him that his own state team hasn’t played Ranji games on the ground? Chetan Chauhan and Sunil Dev were seen running like headless chickens once Sangakarra refused to play ball. On a telly channel, I saw Chetan Chauhan mouthing inanities defending the indefensible as another former cricketer Madan Lal waded into him. There was angst in Delhi over the fiasco. Bishan Singh Bedi squarely blamed the DDCA for the pitch fiasco.
“DDCA had made a mess out of the pitch and they should own up the responsibility. I wondered how a pitch which was not used even for Ranji Trophy matches was used for the one-dayer. Action should be taken against them (DDCA) but that is BCCI’s job,” he said. I sincerely hope that the BCCI’s clout with the ICC doesn’t get DDCA off the hook. Punitive action needs to be taken, a ban of 12 months will teach these fat cats in the association a lesson that they won’t forget in a hurry.
In a recent interview to SportzPower Daljit Singh, chief curator had said, “The BCCI from this season has introduced pitch quality forms, which the match referees will have to fill up. This is a step in the right direction. I think there will be a paradigm shift in the coming two or three years. Already Ranji games are being played on seaming and green tracks, to enable the players to get used to conditions they will encounter abroad. But to suddenly have Tests in India on such bowling-friendly tracks is not easy. The strength of the home team also needs to be kept in mind. I think slowly this mind-set will change.”
