Major uplift of Cuttack Barabati Stadium with ‘chessboard’ field ahead of India-England ODI on Feb 9

The cricket field at the historic Barabati Stadium in Cuttack will wear a new and ripe green look with preparations on at a rapid pace to prepare a chessboard pattern ahead of the February 9 India-England One-Day International (ODI) match here.

Sources reported that an army of groundsmen, equipped with state-of-the-art grass-mowing machines, were toiling hard to cover the entire playing field at the stadium with alternate blocks of light and dark green grass boxes, giving it a chessboard look.

Reel Mower Machine Worth Rs 77 Lakh Brought from US

To aid groundsmen in rendering the pattern, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) has imported a heavy-duty reel mower machine worth Rs 77 lakh from the United States. With advanced hydraulics and multi-purpose arms, the field mower’s blades span 8 feet, thereby cutting and trimming large swathes of grass in one go.

This will be the first time that the Barabati Stadium field will wear such a look. Additionally, only a few major Indian cricket stadiums such as the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala have sported such unique patterns for bilateral matches.

Chessboard field pattern at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala

Ground staff members at Cuttack have already covered a large part of the field with the machine, as of Saturday and remain hopeful of giving the stadium an iconic makeover.

“We are working towards giving a chessboard pattern to the entire Barabati Stadium field. Although we have begun a bit late, plans are afoot to have the field ready before the match,” said a ground staff member of OCA.

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In addition to this, fertilisers of various kinds have been procured from Australia and already applied to the soil providing a pristine fresh green look. In many ways, the Barabati Stadium ground will shine greener and appear even more appealing both under natural sunlight and floodlights.

Barabati Stadium Pitch for India-England ODI:

Along similar lines, special attention has also been given to the pitch. A mix of red soil from Mumbai and black soil from Kalahandi is expected to make the pitch conducive for a high-scoring game. Further, anti-dew chemicals will be sprayed on the grass to keep dew away and ensure that the outfield is not slippery.

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Finally, online tickets for the game are slated to go on sale at 4 pm today (February 2) while offline counters will stay open on February 5 and 6.