IPL 2016: Eden Gardens ground-staff working overtime for KKR-SRH clash after two days of rain

The Indian Premier League is coming to its business end and the race to qualify for the playoffs is down to the last league match day. Three teams are fighting for the last two spot as the tournament becomes interesting on the closing day of league action.

Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad today at the historic Eden Gardens in an important clash which may decide the fate of the Kolkata-based franchise’s future in the tournament. But the adverse weather conditions in the “city of joy” can play spoilsport in this crucial encounter.

Groundsmen at the Eden Gardens are working overtime to make the pitch and the outfield ready for Sunday’s heavyweight clash but they are also keeping their fingers crossed. Due to cyclonic conditions the city witnessed continuous rain for two days and the entire ground was kept under cover.

The ground staffs are keeping their fingers crossed

However, on Saturday afternoon, the sun finally came out of the cloud wrap and the covers were removed. A Groundsman said, "The outfield is dry. The new covers that were imported before the World T20 are very good and there has been so seepage at all."

While the outfield looks pretty dry, the main square and the practice pitches were damp which forced KKR to cancel their practice session on Saturday evening. The players didn’t even arrive at the venue. KKR assistant coach Simon Katich was there to attend the pre-match press conference and then went to take a look at the pitch after the covers were removed.

The groundsman then talked about the pitch and said that it was under cover on Thursday and Friday and there will be moisture in the surface. He said, “As the pitch was under cover for the last two days, moisture from below has settled on the surface. In the absence of sunlight, the evaporation process has suffered. We call this sweating of the pitch."

He then said that two-three hours of sunlight today should be good to make the ground ready for the match. He said, "We got some sunshine in the afternoon which allowed us to remove the covers and use the roller on the pitch."

The Groundsman also hoped for a full match and said, "We are hoping that there will be no heavy downpour on Saturday night. As the Met department has forecast a bright Sunday , we are confident of making the ground ready for a full match."