Ranji Trophy: Indore to host final

The Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore will host the Ranji Trophy final from December 29. The Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the first semifinal between Karnataka and Vidarbha, while Pune will host the second semifinal between Delhi and Bengal from December 17.

In the last IPL season, Holkar Stadium was the home ground of Kings XI Punjab.

The final of the Ranji Trophy will be held at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore from December 29. The two winners of the semifinals will lock horns to clinch the title.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the Madhya Pradesh city will host the final, while the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the first semifinal between Karnataka and Vidarbha, while Pune will host the second semifinal between Delhi and Bengal. All the games will be have live telecast.

READ: Ranji Trophy: Kolkata, Pune to host semis

Sportstar was the first publication to report about the semifinal venues. “We will be reaching Kolkata on December 14 for our semifinal against Karnataka. We are looking forward to the challenge,” Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal had told  Sportstar .

In order to steer clear of disputes over the wickets at the neutral venues; the BCCI has already sent its ‘zonal curators’ 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 the scanner a couple of months back with its erstwhile curator Pandurang Salgaonkar getting ‘involved’ in a pitch scandal.

READ: 'How did Salgaonkar let it slip?'

To be doubly sure with the quality of wickets, the BCCI is leaving no stone unturned.