On a day when the Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch laid out a negative advertisement for Test cricket, a perfect antidote was being perfected at Paharganj in the Capital city. At the Karnail Singh Stadium, Railways were playing Jharkhand in a Plate group match and the bounce and carry on the third day wicket was chest high— even for the likes of medium-pacers Sanjay Bangar and Sanjib Sanyal —while the pitch remained rock hard and assisted seam movement.

Batsmen had got runs—even a century, fast bowlers loved the response from the surface and spinners got their fair share on what was the ideal ‘sporting’ wicket that domestic cricket was always on the lookout for.

And it needed an ex-Ranji trophy cricketer cum curator from Benaras, the recall of an old idea and the use of jaggery. All this change on a ground where only last season the Board of Control for Cricket in India had threatened to take away all matches for having a sub-standard wicket.

It’s an age-old idea—but forgotten over the years. Jaggery can lay a strong base to provide the bounce and help bind the wicket.

Abhay Sharma, former skipper and now the Railways’ coach, said: “I recalled what I had seen in a Duleep Trophy match in Bikaner long back. I remember playing that match and that wicket had a tennis-ball bounce. I had asked the groundsman, who was about 70 years old then, how he managed this and he told me to use jaggery, and its syrup is very good to provide the stiff base.

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