The final and fifth ODI between India and Australia is expected to hit the peak of summit. So far it was a one-way traffic with Men in Blue clearly on the cusp of blue washing the Men in Yellow. But that wasn’t meant to happen as the Aussies’ rose from the Ashes.
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Aussies found their tempo in the last match and will be hoping to stick to the same before delving into the shorter format.
On the contrary, India who lost their No.1 spot in the ICC ODI rankings in the last ODI will look to retain the top spot with a convincing win at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur tomorrow.
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According the pitch curator Pravin Hingnikar, the dead rubber contest is going to be a sporting wicket that can assist both batsmen and bowlers.
It’s up to the players who make full use of the pitch to good effect. Last time when both teams met each other, India got the better of Australia in an intense high-scoring 350-run chase.
“It will be a very sporting wicket, but what’s required is the team to put runs on the board. I don’t think the toss will have a major role to play given this is a true wicket. ”
“It will provide equal opportunity for both the teams… Be it spinners or seamers, no one would have an added advantage come Sunday,” the pitch curator said as per the quotes in Hindustan Times.
The rain factor is one threat that kept on appearing to interrupt the minds of the people so far in 4 ODIs but thankfully there was no match being called off.
The curator said that there is no forecast of rain and even if the rain gods appear from nowhere, the groundstaff are well prepared to face it.
“We’ve been working on the pitch for the past 10-12 days, although we had to halt our work in between because of heavy downpour.”
“Luckily, there is no forecast of rain; even if it does rain, we are prepared to tackle the situation given our surface and underground drainage are up to the mark. We’ll be covering the entire ground in the night just in case it rains,” he signed off.
