200-odd good score on Kotla wicket, says Dhoni

After Australia captain Ricky Ponting's outburst against the practice facilities at the Ferozshah Kotla on Friday, it was turn of his Indian counterpart, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, later in the day to voice his concern about the pitch, though not in the same tone.

India's skipper appeared unperturbed with the wicket being prepared for the Saturday's third ODI in New Delhi. He predicted a low-scoring encounter, just like was the case with the Champions League Twenty20 matches at the venue.

"It is the type of wicket where 220 or 200-odd can be a good score if it behaves in the same way [like in the Champions League Twenty20]. It looks like a dry wicket. I think it will keep low, except that it doesn't break too much as the game progresses," Dhoni said on the eve of the match.

After hammering 354 for seven in the previous match, India's batsmen could struggle to score runs on a slow and low Kotla wicket, which was a nightmare for batsmen in the recently-concluded Champions League T20 tournament.

The wicket was generally unpredictable and slow, offering a lot help to the spinners with its uneven bounce, and, not surprisingly, 40 per cent of the batsmen at the venue during the tournament were out bowled.

With batting being India's strength, Dhoni is hoping the curator would have improved the 22-yard strip.

"When I saw the Champions League matches, the wicket was a bit on the slower side, it was keeping low and turning a lot. It is very difficult to set a target. As a team, your first priority should be to get off to a good start. After the Champions League they have got some time to give to the wicket and, maybe, it will be a good wicket and that is what everyone is assuming and predicting," he said.

Echoing Dhoni's view on the wickets, Ponting felt the spinners will have a big role in the match.

"I think it will be low and slow, as we saw through the Champions League. It would be pretty hard for the batsmen to score. I would imagine batting first.

"The spinner will play a big role. Looking at the Champions League, the wickets turned quite a bit so. I think if the fast bowlers bowl well, they are going to be the hardest ones to score off. For spinners, because it is spinning so much, the margin of error becomes small for them," said Ponting.

Earlier in the day, Ponting was upset after a watered practice pitch hampered his team's preparation for the match.

"I was disappointed when I had a look at the practice wicket which has been watered this morning," he said.

"Everyone in the world, except the groundsmen, knew we were coming for training and when we came it was completely unusable. By the time India will arrive wicket will be fine and it's a disadvantage for us," he added.

Even Delhi Daredevils batsman Gautam Gambhir had criticized the Kotla pitch, saying it had played a part in his team's early exit from the tournament.

"I don't know how bad a wicket it is, but it is not an ideal wicket for a Twenty20 game, because you just don't have a chance to comeback," he had said.

However, Daljit Singh, who heads the BCCI's pitch committee, defended all criticism towards the Kolta groundsmen.

"The wicket is just two months old, it needs one good season for it to become good. A few things have not really got going as per plans because of shortage of time, as they had to prepare the wicket for the Champions League Twenty20. The grass had to be allowed to grow, but they didn't get time for the same, they had to play the matches and even practice matches too before that.

"Then the rains came in between, so grass could not be maintained. The wickets have only played low and slow, they haven't turned square or been dangerous, but at the same time there was marginal improvement as the matches went on," Daljit told rediff.com.

He believes that instead of criticizing the wicket, batsmen should get their act in place and take time to get used to the wicket before going for their shots.

"It is not a bang-bang wicket; you should take time and adjust to the wicket. You need to get your eye in before you go for the shots. Once you get settled then you will not have much problems," he said.

Daljit also praised the efforts of the DDCA [Delhi and District Cricket Association] in revamping the entire square.

"It was admirable initiative by DDCA, because they were looking at the World Cup 2011. They revamped the whole square and put a new square in the middle. They are the first ground in India to have a drainage around the square, which is a very good thing."