The Indian cricket team, upon arriving in Pune for their fourth World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh on October 19, took a day off from training. They received a warm welcome on Sunday and went straight to their hotel rooms. The team didn’t practice on Monday, with the BCCI confirming that they would only have a practice session on Tuesday evening.
This break was well-deserved after their impressive performance against Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, Rahul Dravid, the head coach, remained on duty and visited the MCA Stadium in Pune to assess the pitch, just as he had done before the Pakistan match.
Dravid spent time with the curators and ground staff to discuss the pitch’s nature, considering that this would be the first match of the World Cup in Pune, bringing an element of uncertainty.
Historically, the Pune pitch has been favorable to batting, with 8 out of 14 ODIs played here seeing teams scoring over 300 runs. The last ODI played here witnessed both India and England crossing the 300-run mark, with India winning by 7 runs.
Players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul hope for a similar batting-friendly pitch on Thursday. Rohit has been particularly aggressive in this tournament, hitting 11 sixes in just three innings.
However, the type of soil used can significantly impact how the pitch behaves. Red soil might result in more grip and turn for the ball, while black soil tends to favor run-scoring.
India and Bangladesh have had contrasting starts in the tournament, with India winning all three matches convincingly and sitting atop the points table, while Bangladesh won their opening match against Afghanistan but lost to New Zealand and England. Concerns surround the fitness of Bangladesh’s captain, Shakib Al Hasan, who sustained an injury in their last match against New Zealand.
