"Very poor wicket. The board has to look into things like this. The ball is not coming up, it is not getting off properly." © AFP
Bengal coach Arun Lal slammed the pitch prepared for the Ranji Trophy final after the opening day in Rajkot, terming it as "very poor" and "not good for cricket".
On a day where Saurashtra laboured to 206 for 5, the lack of bounce was a regular feature throughout. Some deliveries, even from a short of length, rose only as high as the shin, reducing the likelihood of edges carrying to slips while also causing great difficulty to batsmen.
"Very poor wicket. The board has to look into things like this. The ball is not coming up, it is not getting off properly. It is dusting on the first day. This is very poor," Lal said.
The conditions at hand presented a unique challenge for Bengal, who are used to very different pitches back home and have built much of their success on the back of their three seamers. Subsequently, they went wicketless in the first session. But the manner of their fightback pleased Lal, who took great delight in how well they adjusted to get back into the contest.
"Yes, I am [satisfied]," Lal said. "This is a long game. 15 sessions have to be played, we have played three. We will fight till the end whatever the result. We don't focus on the result. We focus on what we do best. If we keep them to under 300 in the first innings, I will be happy."
"We had to attack the batsman (in the third session). You have to contain runs, like I said it is a poor wicket. Medium pacer is bowling with one slip and there is no chance of ball carrying it to slips. It would be a disgrace if the ball starts rolling through on day three,"
Despite the conditions apparently playing into the home team's strengths, Lal doesn't believe that neutral venues are necessary, pointing to the fact that neutral curators are appointed to oversee the preparation.
"No, not necessarily (on neutral venue). You have got neutral curators. The board should look into it. Send your curator 15 days before the game. Even the curator has not done a good job."
Bengal coach Arun Lal slammed the pitch prepared for the Ranji Trophy final after the opening day in Rajkot, terming it as "very poor" and "not good for cricket".
On a day where Saurashtra laboured to 206 for 5, the lack of bounce was a regular feature throughout. Some deliveries, even from a short of length, rose only as high as the shin, reducing the likelihood of edges carrying to slips while also causing great difficulty to batsmen.
"Very poor wicket. The board has to look into things like this. The ball is not coming up, it is not getting off properly. It is dusting on the first day. This is very poor," Lal said.
The conditions at hand presented a unique challenge for Bengal, who are used to very different pitches back home and have built much of their success on the back of their three seamers. Subsequently, they went wicketless in the first session. But the manner of their fightback pleased Lal, who took great delight in how well they adjusted to get back into the contest.
"Yes, I am [satisfied]," Lal said. "This is a long game. 15 sessions have to be played, we have played three. We will fight till the end whatever the result. We don't focus on the result. We focus on what we do best. If we keep them to under 300 in the first innings, I will be happy."
"We had to attack the batsman (in the third session). You have to contain runs, like I said it is a poor wicket. Medium pacer is bowling with one slip and there is no chance of ball carrying it to slips. It would be a disgrace if the ball starts rolling through on day three,"
Despite the conditions apparently playing into the home team's strengths, Lal doesn't believe that neutral venues are necessary, pointing to the fact that neutral curators are appointed to oversee the preparation.
"No, not necessarily (on neutral venue). You have got neutral curators. The board should look into it. Send your curator 15 days before the game. Even the curator has not done a good job."