By Dung Huynh 
Honestly, I just rolled into Mohali this morning feeling kinda hopeful but clueless about the pitch. Remembered last season’s scores were all over the place here. Needed to get my hands dirty before spouting any tips.
First Look: Feeling the Surface
Got down near the boundary ropes before anyone really started setting up stuff. Just me, the ground staff watering the far end, and a bunch of early birds painting ads. Walked right onto the pitch strip – gotta feel it yourself, right? Knelt down like an idiot digging potatoes and actually dug my finger into the dirt right near the center wicket block. Felt way harder than I expected. Like a crust almost. Definitely baked under that sun for days. Scraped a bit with my nail – fine, powdery stuff came off, but underneath? Solid. Thought “Yep, this ain’t gonna crumble easy.”
Testing the Grass & Cracks
Started pacing up and down the 22 yards. Noticed the grass cover was super patchy. Some spots bare as my kitchen floor, others had these little tufts of dry grass sticking up, kinda brownish. Didn’t look like much live grass at all, just dead stuff hanging on. Important thing? No real cracks opening up yet. Saw a few thin lines, hairline cracks really, but nothing a player could stick a fingernail into. Kept thinking, “Where are those famous Mohali cracks everyone whines about?” Guess the heat hasn’t cracked it open fully yet. That dry, loose top layer though? That felt important. Like dusty concrete. Touched it again. So dry. Realized the whole strip felt very consistent – same hard feel underfoot from one end to the other. No obvious damp or soft patches at all today.
Thinking Through the Feel
Sweating like mad by now. Sat down near the sightscreen just watching the sun beat down. The pitch felt like it had a ton of bounce stored up in it. That hard base? Yeah, it meant the ball would ping off fast when it hit. The dryness? Made me think of it skipping through quicker. The lack of real grass meant less of that annoying slow grip. It screamed “Hit me!” to the batters. Figured:
- New ball would zip onto the bat, lovely.
- Pace bowlers might get some early kick, but bounce might even be too consistent? Tough for variety.
- Spin? Forget big turn. That dust was only on top, maybe skidding the ball later? Needed more info.
Started mentally penciling in a big target.
The Big Hurdle Nobody Talks About
Here’s where I almost screwed up. Was staring at the pitch so hard I forgot to look up! Saw the clouds rolling in late afternoon. Massive fluffy ones. Humidity spiked suddenly. Felt it slap you in the face. Massive dew incoming later. Suddenly that “batter’s paradise” felt like “bowler’s horror show” later at night. Ball getting slippery? Fielders dropping catches? Spinners just hoping not to get launched? Yeah. That changes everything about chasing targets. Saw the boundaries too – looked smaller than I remembered from TV. Easy sixes down the ground? Brutal for bowlers.
Putting It All Together (My Messy Thoughts)
Okay, so the pitch felt like a road: hard, dry, good bounce, short boundaries. Mega scores possible. Bat first? Hammer it, set 200+ minimum if you have the firepower. Bat second? Knowing that dew is coming, chasing anything under 200 feels totally doable, maybe even 220 depending on your lineup. Key thing I realized watching the surface bake? The first 6 overs with the hard new ball on that quick surface are golden for batters. Exploit that! Later, even with little spin, the skiddy pace of the spinners might cause some issues when batters go too hard, but honestly? Dew makes defending almost impossible later. Forget bowling second unless your pacers have killer slower balls or yorkers nailed. Pitch helps batters. Dew kills bowlers. Simple as that.
