Both skippers feel pitch will help pacemen

BANGALORE: In recent times, somewhat strangely to say the least, no two captains have said the same thing about the Chinnaswamy Stadium track on offer for the given match. On Thursday, on the eve of the five-day Irani Cup tie that kicks off on Friday morning, it was different with both Cheteshwar Pujara, the Rest of India skipper, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the man who has led Rajasthan so successfully, agreeing that there would be help for the fast bowlers.
"Looking at the wicket, we will go for three fast bowlers," said Pujara. "There will be help for the fast bowlers in the initial couple of days as we saw in the Test match and it might turn later on," he added, which should be good news for the quick men in his side, more so for the returning from injury Ishant Sharma, who hasn't played a game for long. "It will definitely help seam bowling, it has a bit of grass on it, but it is a wicket that supports fair cricket. We will also field three seamers," echoed Kanitkar, who wasn't too worried about taking on the Rest of India.
"We are a state team and they are representing the rest of the country. So on paper, it definitely looks off balance, but we have a combination that has done well and we will stick to it and then who knows what will happen," was his response when asked about the probable unevenness of the contest.
Kanitkar said he would have loved to have Aakash Chopra in the side. "We will definitely miss him. He was an important part of the team right from seeing off the new ball to making big runs. But his absence gives an opportunity to a youngster," he said.