After a dramatic behavior of the pitch at Lucknow for the 2nd T20I between India and New Zealand 2 days ago, the unwanted spinning track at Ekana sports stadium was blamed for the slow and low scoring contest. We are used to seeing more than 300 runs being scored (combined) in T20 Cricket but India and New Zealand shared only 200 runs between them.
Although India landed the final blow and earned a hard fought by 6-wickets with a single ball to spare. Most of the overs were bowled by the spinners – 30 overs to be precise. It offered massive turn and deceived the batters unless one plays with composure and patience.
.@surya_14kumar hits the winning runs as #TeamIndia secure a 6-wicket win in Lucknow & level the #INDvNZ T20I series 1️⃣-1️⃣
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/p7C0QbPSJs#INDvNZ | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/onXTBVc2Wu
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 29, 2023
In the end, that’s what Surya Kumar Yadav did but the track at Ekana Sports stadium was discarded by a lot of players including Indian captain Hardik Pandya. As a result, the pitch curator was sacked by authorities for producing a track where scoring runs was like breaking the mountains.
Hardik Pandya ‘VERY UNHAPPY’ about India vs New Zealand pitches, says ‘These pitches not made for T20s’ #INDvsSL #sports #cricket #BawaalPlayer #CFBPlayoff #indVsSri https://t.co/66hKs4gwXy
— Tata News (@Tatacabnews) January 30, 2023
“To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played on 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” – said Hardik Pandya after the match.
'You don’t expect this kind of purchase from the spinners' – Gautam Gambhir.#INDvNZ #INDvsNZ https://t.co/Y5r4Airflq
— India Today Sports (@ITGDsports) January 29, 2023
In the 1st Innings, India were asked to bowl first and the hosts played with 4 spinners. Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Mavi and Hardik Pandya were the 3 seam options but the turners bowled 13 overs and all of them took a wicket. The Kiwis were restricted to just 99 runs.
Innings Break!
An outstanding bowling performance from #TeamIndia! 🙌 🙌
2⃣ wickets for @arshdeepsinghh
1⃣ wicket each for @yuzi_chahal, @imkuldeep18, @HoodaOnFire, @Sundarwashi5 & @hardikpandya7Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/p7C0QbPSJs#INDvNZ | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/z8A9sMIEok
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 29, 2023
New Zealand in the 2nd Innings allowed pacers to bowl only the 19th and the 20th over. Although the spinners had their magic on, only Micheal Bracewell and Ish Sodhi took 1 wickets each as Surya and Hardik guided India towards another victory.
Team India’s last-minute request resulted in ‘shocker’ pitch, curator gets the sack
Pitch curator at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium has been sacked after team management asked for an 11th-hour change in pitch for India-New Zealand T20…https://t.co/aVU4ZgFjj4
— Amit Paranjape (@aparanjape) January 31, 2023
Reports from various sources have claimed that it was the team management which made a request for the pitch to favor bowlers. The report read – “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.”
After sacking the former Curator, Lucknow cricket board has hired Sandeep Aggarwal from Madhya Pradesh to fill the role with less than 4 months to go for the IPL 2023.
