The first One-Day International between India and Sri Lanka at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack will be a run-feast predicted curator Pankaj Patnaik but at the same time pointed out that the toss might turn out to be crucial with the dew expected to play in the evening.
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The 22-yard strip may not be a greentop but there are a few grass patches in between. Patnaik feels that it won't be a traditional Barabati Stadium track, where the ball will keep low and slow.
"The Barabati wicket is no longer slowish in nature. It would be full of runs. I cannot predict a total but it should be around 280-300," Patnaik said on Friday.
Barabati hosted three Indian Premier League matches including the Kings XI Punjab's high-scoring tie against Chennai Super Kings in May.
The curator said they would take necessary steps to minimise the impact of dew.
"We've noticed that the dew starts falling after 7pm forming a thick layer on the grass. It's something to worry about but we will take all measures to minimise the affect."
As far as the high scoring totals in ODIs at the venue is concerned, Barabati has witnessed only one 300-plus total when India scored 301/3 against Zimbabwe way back in 1998.
The venue hosted India and Australia in October last year but the match was abandoned without a ball because of rain.
Prior to that, India notched a one-wicket victory over the West Indies chasing 212 on November 29, 2011, the last time the venue witnessed an International match.
