The buzz concerning the series decider between India and Australia has already gripped the Delhi folks, and now a DDCA official has revealed that the Wednesday’s ODI will be a thorough entertainment for the viewers since the pitch is expected to be a belter. 

“The tracks for the Ranji Trophy had plenty of runs in them. Bengal managed to chase down a 300-plus total in the fourth innings with ease to win the match. We don’t expect the surface to change much over the course of the two innings. The team chasing should have the advantage in the fifth ODI; it will safeguard them from dew as well if it comes down,” a DDCA official told CricketNext on Monday.

Australia levelled the five-match series with a record chase of 359 in the fourth ODI in Mohali. Defending the daunting total, Indian spinners failed to get any grip from the surface because of heavy dew.

The official also said that dew won’t be a big factor at Kotla.

“I don’t think dew should have a major impact in the game. We have a 1.30pm start for the match and even if dew comes down, it shouldn’t have as big an impact as it did at the PCA Stadium in Mohali because we are located a little south of Chandigarh,” he remarked.

The last ODI played at the Kotla was back in 2016 but the venue also staged a T20I match between India and New Zealand in November 2017. In that T20I game, spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel had made life difficult for the Kiwis after the hosts posted a 200-plus total.

Reminded of that slow nature of the pitch, the DDCA official said, “That match was played two years back. The Kotla pitch has evolved since then. We had plenty of high scoring ties in the IPL games last year and spinners haven’t had a huge impact. It has been a thrilling ODI series so far and fans can look forward to another high-scoring clash come Wednesday.”