The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Chinnaswamy pitches being re-laid

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Friday, Feb 09, 2007
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Chinnaswamy pitches being re-laid

Bangalore : The pitches in the Chinnaswamy Stadium are all set to get a fresh lease of life as the centre square that includes three pitches were dug up as part of the relaying process.

"The pitches were last re-laid in 2000 and since then there were complaints about the low bounce and that there was not much in the wicket for bowlers. So we roped in a New Zealand expert Blair who tested the soil and sent in a detailed report and suggested a few changes," said Narayan Raju, curator.

"In his soil testing reports, Blair suggested that the pitches in KSCA (B) were fine and he also mentioned the black soil content in these pitches as being helpful. He suggested increasing the ratio of black soil in the Chinnaswamy Stadium pitches too.

"He said that such type of soil with its clay content retains moisture for a longer time and provides assistance to bowlers. We have now got tons of such type of soil from near Kakinada," Raju added. Meanwhile KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel said: "We are looking at having sporting pitches and I think we should be ready in time for the Afro-Asian Cup in June."

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