The newly-constructed Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Stadium in Barsapara looked like a batting belter, Australia's stand-in captain David Warner said ahead of the second T20 International and Virat Kohli and his boys will look to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series when the two teams clash on Tuesday.
"The wicket looks fantastic. The first game being played here it's going to be a special one for both teams. Hopefully, we can get across the line and get that first victory here," Warner said.
Local curator Mukut Kalita too said it would be a typical T20 wicket, full of runs. "Our best effort is to make the match memorable by making a wicket full of runs. We have seen this wicket favour spinners in the domestic cricket but for tomorrow, I hope it would produce a lot of runs."
Himachal Pradesh were all out in a Ranji game for only 36 last year but Kalita blamed it on the lack of application by the Himachal batsmen. "There was some rain and the wicket was under cover so it became damp. But the batsmen showed complete lack of application," Kalita said.
He has been associated with the stadium since inception and it has hosted domestic cricket for past three seasons now. The wait for its maiden international game will finally be over. "We should not worry about that now. It's a sporting wicket and we hope it will be a memorable one."
He further said there's forecast of rain but they are well-equipped and a high sand content in soil would mean that it will help in drainage system. "We just cover the wicket in case it rains, that's enough as the high sand content facilitates drainage in no time."
It rained in the afternoon on Monday forcing India to call off their practice session on the eve of their second T20I against Australia. Only a few players with the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Kedar Jadhav, Ashish Nehra, Manish Pandey and Kuldeep Yadav had turned up for the optional session.
But before they could hit the nets, a spell of showers forced them to cancel their practice. After rain stopped few of the players including Dhoni and Kohli were seen engaged in their favourite pastime — playing football.
Even in Ranchi, their practice was hit by rains for two days as it also interrupted the match with India winning by nine wickets by D-L method on October 7. The stadium is hosting its first match but for Guwahati an International cricket match is coming after a long gap of about seven years when India beat New Zealand in an ODI at the Nehru Stadium on November 28, 2010.
India probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (WK), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Australia probable XI: David Warner (C), Aaron Finch, Moises Henriques, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis/Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Tim Paine (WK), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Source: News18
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