The ongoing Test series is happening during Covid-19 and there are back-to-back games at each venue, an unusual happening.
Experts believe that ideally the pitch (No. 2) for the first Test should have been used for the second and the one being used for second (No. 5) should have been used for the first.
“The reason is that the black soil retains water, so in the three-day gap before the second Test, only 10-20 litres water can be allowed at best. Otherwise, if you put more, the surface, due to heavy clay content, will retain water. If they had used pitch No.2, the red soil one, for this game instead, then you could have given more water in the three-day gap and it would have dried easily as that soil doesn’t hold water. Now, due to dryness and no water, the black soil wicket can crumble early. It can also keep low,” said an official.
Former head of BCCI pitches and grounds committee, Daljeet Singh, explained the characters of different pitches.
“I cannot comment on the Chennai pitch as…
