The 4th Test of the series between India and West Indies is about to start in a day, the curator of the pitch at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago has revealed about the possible characteristics it will show during the 5-day affair.
With India already clinching the series by virtue of 2 wins in Jamaica and St.Lucia, they would like to win the last Test and stay on the hunt to retain the No.1 rankings among the Test nations. Ronald Faria, the curator said that the pitch would assist the spinners but and will also be a good batting wicket for the first three days.
The West Indies have struggled against the Indian bowling attack this series throughout, saving Roston Chase in the 2nd Test where he scored an unbeaten century to secure a draw.
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Faria said, "We saw it today this morning, and we don't know if we are getting the sun. Maybe before 5 o' clock this evening we will have rain again. So you have to put the water when you want. You can't just put water and leave it there."
Faria played his first-class cricket in Trinidad and Tobago and later curated pitches across the Caribbean islands, and has been in charge of Queen’s Park Oval for the last 8 years. He admitted that he is a ‘batsman’s groundsman’ and said the pitches he prepares are suited for batting, stating that 500 and 400 runs are expected in the first 2 innings of the Test match.
"I am a batsman groundsman. I don't fix no wicket to help the bowler, if the bowler is good and gets a wicket, then good. But I don't put no wicket on which the bowler will kill the batsmen," he said.
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Prior to the match, the pitch seemed to have a green top with a lot of dry spots at the end, but Faria informed that the grass will be cut off.
The curator said, "We saw it today this morning, and we don't know if we are getting the sun. Maybe before 5 o'clock this evening we will have rain again. So you have to put the water when you want. You can't just put water and leave it there.”
With Ravichandran Ashwin in great form with the bat and the ball, skipper Virat Kohli will be eager to end his first Test series win outside the Indian sub-continent on a winning note.
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