With a batting-friendly wicket on offer, another high scoring spectacle seems to be on the cards when India takes on Sri Lanka in the third One-dayer of the five-match series at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Monday.
If the curator for the Barabati stadium is to be believed, the pitch will assist batsmen and it promises to be a 300-plus wicket.
"We have given our best to prepare a batting wicket. We hope it turns out to be a batsman's paradise on the lines of what we witnessed in Rajkot and Nagpur," curator Pankaj Patnaik told PTI.
"Bowlers will get good bounce and there will be little turn for spinners but we have to make sure the wicket offers lots of runs as it's a One-day match after all," Patnaik said.
"There won't be much of a difference in batting first or second as we hope the pitch will remain firm," he said.
However, he warned with little chill in the air, the dew factor might pose some problems for the day-night affair.
"We will use some chemical spray to keep the dew at bay. We will use it before the match in two-hour intervals so that it will negate the dew affect," he said.
Patnaik said they have prepared the same wicket on which India successfully chased England's 270 in the last One-dayer played at this venue on November 26, 2008.
Traditionally, Barabati has been a lucky venue for Team India who have won eight, lost four and one was abandoned due to rain.
But they have a poor record against Sri Lanka in Barabati, having lost to them in the only One-dayer played between the two countries on December 28, 1990.
With a new four-storeyed AC corporate box, having a capacity of 1,050, two more new galleries and a new pavillion in place, the capacity of the Barabati Stadium has increased to 39,000 from the earlier 31,900, according to sources at the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA).
The OCA has made elaborate arrangements, erecting eight giant screens at different places of the city so that people who will be unable to make it to the venue will not miss out on the live action.
