Eden Gardens Pitch Report: The IPL 2024 extravaganza has begun. After the fireworks in Chennai last night, the party will shift to Kolkata. The home side, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and their skipper, Shreyas Iyer, are ready for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) challenge. After a hit-and-miss season last year, the Knights will be looking for the elusive 3rd IPL title that has evaded them for the last 9 seasons.
However, Shreyas Iyer and Co. will start the 17th edition of the league with a handicap. Before the KKR vs SRH match, the Eden Gardens pitch curator denied them the home advantage. The side that found success at home last season due to their spin trio may not find a place for them any longer.
Eden Gardens Pitch Report: Pace to dominate the KKR vs SRH clash
Last season, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, and Varun Chakaravarthy ran riot in Kolkata. However, that won’t be the case this season. Before the match, Eden Garden pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee stated, “The pitches won’t be like the World Cup. There will be sporting pitches. It will have bounce.”
With the new two-bouncer rule enforced, one can expect fast bowlers to rule the roost in Kolkata. Pacers may get some purchase with the new ball and then fall back to other tactics, trying to exploit the bounce in the pitch by hitting the back of the length consistently to trouble the batters.
However, the batter will also have some say, especially in the second half when dew sets in. This makes chasing easier, with bowlers finding it tough to grip the wet ball and batters looking to swing freely. Taking the bounce and pace on the surface and dew factor into consideration, whichever captain wins the toss will likely choose to bat second.
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