The Ekana Stadium in Lucknow will finally make its international cricket debut as it prepares itself to host the second T20I between India and West Indies on Tuesday.

BCCI chief curator Daljit Singh has chosen the pitch no.6 for the much-awaited match between the two teams. Local officials seemed to be in a quarry when it came to making a batting or bowling friendly pitch. The game is expected to be a competitive one as the black soil, composed of Odisha’s Bolangir soil, should produce a good bounce.

Dew factor under lights is likely to make a big difference for the team fielding second as the ball would be skidding on the surface and bowlers will find it hard to grip it. Also, the fall in temperature during the day has meant that fog and smog have covered the stadium in the last two days.

“It’s a balanced pitch for both teams. One has to work hard for runs as clearing boundary with lofty shots won’t be easy on a surface like this,” said one of the local curators.

Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) curators like Ravindra Chauhan, Shiv Kumar and Surendra have helped Daljit Singh prepare the pitch. “The outfield is perfect and fast, but dew won’t allow the ball to race towards boundary quickly. Nowadays, the dew is coming at 5.30 in the evening and the match starts here at 7 pm. You can’t ignore these factors,” said one of the curators.

“All the tickets are sold out and we are expecting a full-house,” director of Ekana Sports City Udai Sinha said on Sunday.

(Inputs: Hindustantimes.com)