“It’s a beautiful ground to play at,” South Africa Skipper Temba Bavuma was mesmerized by the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala as the Proteas gear up to take on the Netherlands.
The Dhauladhars have received the first snowfall of the season making the venue look all the more beautiful. To add to this, the two teams have been greeted with some rainfall as well.
The fans might be more excited about the India vs New Zealand fixture which is scheduled to take place at this very venue on Sunday but the combination of first snowfall and World Cup has already given a boost to the tourism industry in this part of the country.
Surrounded by mountains from all around, the HPCA Stadium is set to host another ODI World Cup fixture on Tuesday.
ICC World Cup: SCHEDULE | RESULTS | POINTS TABLE | MOST RUNS | MOST WICKETS
“It’s one of the beautiful grounds to play at around the world. In terms of what to expect tomorrow, we are not expecting rain, that’s what we were told. But I guess, we will see what happens, if it effects our combinations… Probably, not too much. Obviously, we will have a look at the wickets and that would be the biggest deciding factor,” Bavuma said during the pre-match press conference.
The outfield at this venue has been a talking point since the start of the World Cup. In fact, during the first game of the competition that was held here, Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman survived a nasty blow to his knee.
The concerns were raised continuously and even ICC rated it “average”. Nevertheless, it was cleared to host the England vs Bangladesh fixture.
South Africa’s captain, albeit, had a different opinion. Bavuma admitted that the outfield looks a bit patchy but it isn’t as bad as it looks.
ALSO READ| It’s Official! IOC Votes to Include T20 Cricket at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
“The field is a bit patchy. We did our fielding practice last night. To be honest, it didn’t play as bad as it really looked. We have spoken about trying to be more cautious, maybe changing your diving technique. I don’t know how easy it is to do in the heat of the momentum. The guys just need to be a bit more cautious and attentive. Like I said, we fielded yesterday and it wasn’t too bad,” the right-handed batter said.
South Africa have won both their games so far in the competition and have shown sheer class with the bat on both occasions.
With Netherlands as their next opposition, it seems quite easier from the outset, but it will be worthwhile to see what actually concurs. More so, as South Africa were knocked out after losing to this very side at the T20 World Cup last year.
Comments
0 comment