India Vs Australia: Eden Gardens pitch will be slow, assist bowlers and batters both, says curator

Kolkata, Sep 19: India and Australia cricket teams have reached Kolkata to play in the second ODI on (September 21) at the Eden Gardens.

After rain lashed Bengal's capital city on Monday (September 18) afternoon, East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick has said the pitch will be on the slower side.

Bhowmick has revealed the ball would come slowly onto the bat if such weather persists leading up to Thursday.

As per reports, the ground staff at Eden Gardens was forced to keep the 22-yard strip covered the entire evening due to the showers.

"If it pours, the way it did today (Monday), and we have to keep the pitch under covers, the ball will come onto the bat slow," Bhowmick said.

The Meteorological Department hasn't ruled out the chances of rain on the match day.

Meanwhile, Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee claimed the track would be sporting and aid both batsmen and bowlers.

"The wicket will help both batsmen and bowlers. We are ready and conditions are ideal for one-day cricket," Mukherjee said.

Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President and former India captain Sourav Ganguly inspected the conditions in the afternoon.

He was seen giving instructions to the groundsmen.

The opening ODI between the two teams at Chennai was also affected due to rain. Batting first India scored 281/7 but it started pouring in the innings break forcing the umpires to revise the target for Australia to 164 from 21 overs.

India managed to defend the total as they restricted the visiting side to 137/9 and eventually won by 26 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method.

(With inputs from agencies)