Did Delhi's Ranji Trophy team avoid playing at the Kotla? It could well have been the case
If the Delhi and District Cricket Association were smart enough, they would have picked up cues that the Feroze Shah Kotla wicket was not satisfactory for hosting an international game and thus avoided the embarrassment of the India-Sri Lanka one-dayer being abandoned.
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Apart from criticism from all quarters for the slow nature of pitches during the Champions League Twenty20 and the India vs Australia ODI on October 31, it is reported that the Delhi Ranji Trophy team were also not keen to play at Kotla.
According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India's rules, no game should be allowed at the venue for four weeks before an international game.
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Delhi played its home games at the Roshanara Club ground and the Palam A Ground, Model Sports Complex.
Their November 10 game against Karnataka was outside the four-week allowance for preparation before the December 27 India-Lanka match. But the sluggish Kotla track got a thumbs down from the home team and the game was played at Roshanara.
Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya told MiD DAY: "People are trying to jumble a few things. The Kotla wicket was being re-laid. Also, our strength is pace bowling and we prefer to play at Roshanara as the wicket there helps fast bowlers and suits our strength."
The embarrassment to Delhi cricket has been huge but Dahiya's team will have to quickly put the disappointment behind them as they play Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadium from Sunday.
They will have to be completely focused on the job if they harbour hopes of upsetting their arch-rivals in their own den.
Even though the teams will miss Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan (all Mumbai), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Ashish Nehra (all Delhi), Mumbai vs Delhi Ranji clashes have historically produced high quality cricket right from the days of Bishan Singh Bedi and Sunil Gavaskar.
The two opponents bring out the best in each other and this time should be no different.
The star equation will be provided by Ishant Sharma, whose presence should lift the Delhi side.
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