The Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be hosting the Ranji Trophy semifinal between Karnataka and Vidarbha from Sunday, while the MCA Stadium in Pune will play host to the other semifinal encounter between Bengal and Delhi.
Even though the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not made an official announcement on the venues, the teams and the local associations have confirmed to Sportstar about the development.
“We will be reaching Kolkata on December 14 for our semifinal against Karnataka. We are looking forward to the challenge,” Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal told Sportstar .
One of the top officials at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) too confirmed to this publication, that the BCCI has informed the association last week about the match. “The preparation has begun and we will ensure that the cricket fans enjoy a good contest,” the official said.
It is also learnt that to ensure that there are no disputes over the wickets at the neutral venues; the BCCI has already sent the ‘zonal curators’ of its grounds and pitches to the two venues. While Vishwajit Padhiyar is looking after the wicket in Pune, Ashish Bhowmik will be in-charge of the track at the Eden Gardens. He will be monitoring the work with the CAB curator Sujan Mukherjee.
The track in Pune came under scanner a couple of months back with its erstwhile curator Pandurang Salgaokar getting ‘involved’ in a pitch scandal.
To be doubly sure with the quality of wickets, the BCCI is leaving no stone unturned.
Of the four venues that hosted the quarterfinals, three venues witnessed outright results, while the fixture between Bengal and Gujarat ended in a draw at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
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