World Cup: India and Afghanistan landed in unknown territory

New Delhi: At first glance, the outfield of Kotla looks like a well-trimmed, lush green corner of a golf course. In the middle, 22 yards of the centre pitch also have some visible grass. However, there is no guarantee that it will look like the airstrip of some small-town airport for the India-Afghanistan ICC World Cup match on Wednesday.

This is the first international match of the season on the centre pitch, and it is going to be a new day for both teams.

The Indian and Afghanistan cricket teams landed in Delhi on Monday. Team India came without Shubhman Gill. Gill reportedly had a high fever, and he had to be admitted to a Chennai hospital.

"We have prepared the centre pitch for India-Afghanistan matches," a DDCA management official told Newsdrum on Tuesday. "We have not used it for a full hundred years, but we have played two practice matches on it."

When asked what the highest score of the practice matches was or how the bounce was, the official didn't have an answer.

Afghanistan has three good-quality spinners who can lead the proceeding for 30 over. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi can expect some purchases from Kotla Strip. But the way KL Rahul demolished Adam Zampa in Ahmadabad; it could be a tough day for both.

Kotla witnessed the World Cup’s first high-scoring match between South Africa and Sri Lanka. South Africa scored a massive total of 428 on the side pitch at Kotla and won the match by 102 runs.

Kotla has a strange history of debatable pitches. The fifth ODI of the series with Sri Lanka had to be abandoned due to the dangerous behaviour of the pitch in 2009.

Meanwhile, off the ground, it has been learned that the ICC broadcasting company was struggling to get permission to use drones to get aerial views during the live coverage of the match. Till late Tuesday, the company was waiting to get permission from Delhi Police.

Kotla comes under a high-security zone because of its proximity to the parliament and PM's residence.