"Let’s begin with the dimensions - to my right, it’s 65 metres; to my left, 63 metres; and straight down the ground, it stretches to 71 metres. So there’s a slight directional bias to keep in mind. There are plenty of pitch options here at the square, but tonight we’re playing on black soil. Now, having a close look at the surface, it does appear slightly dry. Given what we saw earlier in the tour, we’ve dealt with plenty of cold conditions, but today feels a lot more normal in terms of atmosphere. With that dryness, you’d expect some turn for the spinners, but despite the visible cracks, the mosaic edges are firm and don’t shift when touched, which suggests the ball may not grip or turn as dramatically as it sometimes does in this part of the world. There’s also an even layer of grass, which usually means good bounce and stroke-play, and if we go by IPL numbers rather than internationals, scores around the 200 mark are quite common here. That’s probably the benchmark teams will have in mind heading in. Traditionally, you’d think chasing is preferable, but interestingly, at this venue, sides batting first have actually won more than they’ve lost," inform Deep Dasgupta and Pommie Mbwanga.