After the pitch for India vs New Zealand, the 2nd T20I created an enormous turn for the spinners of both sides, making it practically hard to score, Lucknow’s pitch curator of the Ekana Cricket Stadium has reportedly been sacked.
After deciding to bat first, New Zealand was limited to 99 for 8 in their 20 overs by the dominance of the Indian spinners. 13 overs were bowled by Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, and Yuzvendra Chahal to dismiss New Zealand.
India’s hitters weren’t in any better shape. As they pursued the target, they huffed, puffed, and stammered. In the penultimate ball of the game, India was able to tie the series thanks to a Suryakumar Yadav boundary.
New Zealand also fought back with their spin attack. Mitchell Santner, the captain, leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, all-rounder Michael Bracewell, and part-timers Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillipps each bowled 17 overs. The spinners bowled 30 of the 39.5 overs, falling only 3 overs short of the world record.
Hardik Pandya called to pitch a Shocker
Hardik Pandya, India’s captain, referred to the pitch as a “shocker” after his team’s six-wicket victory.
“To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played so far. I don’t mind difficult wickets. I am all up for that, but these two wickets are not made for T20.
Somewhere down the line the curators or the grounds that we are going to play in should make sure they prepare the pitches earlier,” Pandya said.
Curator had prepared two black soil pitches
The management of the Indian squad, according to The Indian Express, urged the Lucknow curator to alter the pitch at the last minute.
“According to the sources, the curator had prepared two black soil pitches for the game in advance. However, at the behest of a last-minute request from team management three days prior to the match, the curator had been asked to prepare a fresh pitch made of red soil instead.
The new pitch could not be adequately prepared on short notice, and led to even slower conditions,” said the report.
Sanjeev Agarwal has been appointed as the curator
Sanjeev Agarwal from Gwalior has now been nominated as the curator for Lucknow with the IPL 2023 in mind. The BCCI cannot afford such fields, where the Lucknow Super Giants will play their home matches.
“The curator has been removed and replaced by Sanjeev Kumar Agarwal who is a very experienced curator. We will turn things around in a month.”
“A lot of domestic cricket was already played on all the center wickets ahead of the T20I and the curator should have left one or two strips for an international game.
The surface was overused and due to the bad weather, there was not enough (time) to prepare a fresh wicket,” a UPCA source told PTI.
Also Read: IND vs NZ Today Match Prediction, 3rd T20I, NZ tour of India, 1 FEB 2023
