India unhappy with grassy practice pitch; Lankan official defends wicket

The Indian cricket team is getting ready to play matches against Sri Lanka.

Before the real matches, they are playing a practice game.

The practice game is happening at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo.

The Indian players are not happy because there is a lot of grass on the pitch.

Grass on a pitch can change how the ball bounces and spins.

A man who works at the ground, Mr. Francke, says the grass is there on purpose.

He says grass is needed for a three-day practice game and that Sri Lanka Cricket asked for it.

He thinks the pitch is great for batting and hopes there will be high scores.

He also thinks spin bowlers will get help from the pitch on the second or third day.

He says the team that wins the coin toss should bat first.