T20 World Cup 2024

Batters ‘need to deal with’ tricky New York pitch

India's Rishabh Pant celebrates his team's win with teammate Shivam Dube after their T20 World Cup 2024 group A match against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 5, 2024. Photo: AFP

New York's pitch has garnered a lot of criticism lately, with pundits slamming it as "dangerous" while India batting coach Vikram Rathour said that it is something that the batters will have to deal with in the ongoing ninth edition of the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.

Rathour also mentioned that India batters have the skills and experience needed to navigate the challenge of playing on such a tricky pitch.

India captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with an impressive half-century to guide his team to an eight-wicket victory over Ireland in their opening group match.

However, batters found it tough going, with the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium's drop-in pitch offering a lot of movement and bounce, leading to a low-scoring match after Ireland were bundled out for 96 with four overs to spare.

"It was a challenging wicket and we were expecting a challenging wicket because we played a practice game here. So, we knew what to expect," Rathour told reporters after their victory over Ireland on Wednesday.

"It is what it is. We need to find a way to deal with it and I think we have enough skills in the team and enough experience in the team to deal with it. We should be fine...

"We have enough good batters who can manage to bat well on any kind of surface. I think that has been our strength for many, many years. I think we can adapt really well to different conditions," Rathour added.

The stadium in New York has seen few runs in the two World Cup games it has hosted so far, with South Africa defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets on Monday after dismissing their Asian opponents for their lowest-ever T20I score of 77.

The pitch has drawn widespread criticism, with former England captain Michael Vaughan saying in a post on social media platform X: "Trying to sell the game in the States is great. Love it.

"But for players to have to play on this sub standard surface in New York is unacceptable. You work so hard to make it to the (World Cup) then have to play on this."

Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe player and ex-England team director, told Cricinfo that he felt the surface was not up to scratch.

"I've got to say that is not a good surface to play an international match on. It's bordering on dangerous," said Flower.

"You saw the ball bouncing from a length both ways, so skidding low occasionally but in the main bouncing unusually high and striking people on the thumb, on the gloves, on the helmet and making life very, very difficult for any batsman," he added.

Flower credited India's pace bowlers for taking full advantage of the conditions but said it had been tough on Ireland.

Former Australia and Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur wrote on X: "This pitch in New York is very poor!"

The next match at the stadium will see Canada taking on Ireland on Friday, before arch-rivals India and Pakistan face off on June 9.

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Batters ‘need to deal with’ tricky New York pitch

India's Rishabh Pant celebrates his team's win with teammate Shivam Dube after their T20 World Cup 2024 group A match against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 5, 2024. Photo: AFP

New York's pitch has garnered a lot of criticism lately, with pundits slamming it as "dangerous" while India batting coach Vikram Rathour said that it is something that the batters will have to deal with in the ongoing ninth edition of the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.

Rathour also mentioned that India batters have the skills and experience needed to navigate the challenge of playing on such a tricky pitch.

India captain Rohit Sharma led from the front with an impressive half-century to guide his team to an eight-wicket victory over Ireland in their opening group match.

However, batters found it tough going, with the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium's drop-in pitch offering a lot of movement and bounce, leading to a low-scoring match after Ireland were bundled out for 96 with four overs to spare.

"It was a challenging wicket and we were expecting a challenging wicket because we played a practice game here. So, we knew what to expect," Rathour told reporters after their victory over Ireland on Wednesday.

"It is what it is. We need to find a way to deal with it and I think we have enough skills in the team and enough experience in the team to deal with it. We should be fine...

"We have enough good batters who can manage to bat well on any kind of surface. I think that has been our strength for many, many years. I think we can adapt really well to different conditions," Rathour added.

The stadium in New York has seen few runs in the two World Cup games it has hosted so far, with South Africa defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets on Monday after dismissing their Asian opponents for their lowest-ever T20I score of 77.

The pitch has drawn widespread criticism, with former England captain Michael Vaughan saying in a post on social media platform X: "Trying to sell the game in the States is great. Love it.

"But for players to have to play on this sub standard surface in New York is unacceptable. You work so hard to make it to the (World Cup) then have to play on this."

Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe player and ex-England team director, told Cricinfo that he felt the surface was not up to scratch.

"I've got to say that is not a good surface to play an international match on. It's bordering on dangerous," said Flower.

"You saw the ball bouncing from a length both ways, so skidding low occasionally but in the main bouncing unusually high and striking people on the thumb, on the gloves, on the helmet and making life very, very difficult for any batsman," he added.

Flower credited India's pace bowlers for taking full advantage of the conditions but said it had been tough on Ireland.

Former Australia and Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur wrote on X: "This pitch in New York is very poor!"

The next match at the stadium will see Canada taking on Ireland on Friday, before arch-rivals India and Pakistan face off on June 9.

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