Ahmedabad pitch will suit Murali says curator
 

SA'ADI Thawfeeq reporting from India

AHMEDABAD, Friday - The pitch that is being prepared for Sunday's third and final cricket Test between Sri Lanka and India here at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera is expected to help off-spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh.That is if one goes by what the curator Dhiraj Parsana has to say.

Parsana, a former Indian Test seamer stated that "it was a Murali kind of pitch" that he had prepared. "There will be more bounce here. I am working on getting the ball to bounce at stump level for all five days of the Test match," said Parsana.

"Kumble likes it low and slow so he can take his caught and bowled's and lbw's. The bounce will help Murali and to some extent Harbhajan too."

"One can play shots when there is bounce on the wicket but being extra defensive will create problems. The bat and pad caught close by comes into the picture on this kind of pitch," he said.

Sri Lanka are trailing 0-1 in the three-Test series and will need to win here if they are to square the series.

Following their disappointing batting performance in both innings of the Delhi Test which led to their 188-run defeat, Sri Lanka will have only history on their side at Ahmedabad to lift their spirits against India.

It was at this venue that they have beaten India twice, once in a 4-day unofficial Test in 1964 and as recently as last month when they secured their solitary win in the seven-match one-day series beating India by five wickets.

The Sri Lanka team arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening and are putting up at the Pride Hotel who are bending backwards to make the tourists stay there a pleasant one.

According to the hotel management, a Sri Lankan style food was prepared for them, but they preferred to have Indian food. The hotel authorities said they requested for 'chicken tikka', 'chicken tandoori' and 'biryani'.

"We are ready to prepare what they want," the hotel authorities said. "We are even prepared to offer them Sri Lankan delicacies like kiri bath, hoppers and pittu."

The team held practices in the morning today at the Motera Stadium and manager Michael Tissera said a few players were suffering from sore throats but the entire squad was fit for selection.

He said that Muralitharan who had a strain in his leg and had to bat with a runner in the Sri Lanka second innings at Delhi was also fit. He said the runner was used as a precautionary step.