FAISALABAD, Jan 19: In an unexpected scenario following the dampened opening Test in Lahore attention has suddenly focused on the pitch preparations for Saturday’s second Test at Iqbal Stadium.

As Pakistan and India practiced on Thursday, some of the players and the two coaches had a close look at the pitch.

At the moment the track has marginal presence of straw-coloured grass which suggests it just could be different compared to the benign surface laid out for the series opener at the Qadhafi Stadium.

Agha Zahid, the PCB’s chief curator, has been supervising the preparations over the past 13 days along with local curators to come up with a decent pitch.

However the Faisalabad weather which mostly had cloudy days and light showers in the fortnight has hampered the efforts put in by the groundstaff to make up for the disaster in Lahore.

Ironically, Thursday turned out to be the clearest day here in two weeks with the sun shining brightly which made life pleasant for a change. Even then one felt a bit of dampness in the air that points towards a slow, low-bounce track by the time the match gets under way.

Zahid was left praying for another sunlit day on Friday so that he could come up with desired results. The PCB curator told Dawn that preparing a pitch in the winter is very demanding.

“At this time of the year, it’s a virtual nightmare for the curators to prepare a good track since the weather plays a big role. If the sunshine is not there adequately, there is no chance for us to ensure a hard track with a good carry,” Zahid explained.

“Cynics must realize that because of adverse natural conditions, we were unable to have a good pitch for the Lahore Test. As a result, there was nothing in the Qadhafi Stadium track for the bowlers from the word go.

“It’s always easy to put the blame on the curators if we don’t come up to the expectations of those who run and play the game. Good weather and time factor are very crucial all the time,” he added.

Zahid sounded optimistic when asked whether the Iqbal Stadium pitch was going to be any different. “Well, right now I can’t say for sure. But we are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that a decent spell of hot sunshine on Friday does the trick this time for cricket’s sake.”