Pitch No. 6 at Motera, the Narendra Modi Stadium, a mixed-soil surface — how will it play tonight?
It was where India lost the 2023 World Cup final. The hosts were moving like a freight train in the tournament until they bumped into Australia in the final.
In the lead-up to the summit clash, the Indian team management suddenly became a bit fussy about the pitch. It backfired. The ball didn’t come onto the bat and India could only manage 240 batting first. KL Rahul’s 66 off 107 balls is still talked about, in a negative way.
Cut to 2026, and the Pitch No. 6 once again played host to a World Cup final, this time in the shortest format. In this case, India galloped to 255/5 in 20 overs and then bundled out New Zealand for 159 to lift the trophy. The curse was lifted.
Over to the ongoing IPL, and when Royal Challengers Bengaluru came here for their group league fixture against Gujarat Titans, it was a low-scoring game. The defending champions were folded up for 155 in 19.2 overs and GT chased down the target with 25 balls to spare. The two teams are once again meeting in the final, at a venue where GT have won five of their seven matches this term. The final, though, is likely to be a game of fine margins.
“It will be a good pitch,” a Gujarat Cricket Association official told RevSportz. “The pitch will have good bounce and carry. It will aid run-scoring. At the same time, there will be something for the bowlers, especially upfront. You can call it a sporting pitch.”
GT reached Ahmedabad late in the evening yesterday. Their flight was delayed by a thunderstorm at New Chandigarh. But as their captain Shubman Gill said at the pre-match press conference that was held after Qualifier 2: “Finals are all about mental strength.”
There’s a forecast of thundershowers in Ahmedabad on Monday. On the day of the final though, the mercury is hovering around 43 degrees Celsius around midday. The heat is on, and the finalists are game.
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