India skipper Hardik Pandya, on Sunday (January 29), criticised the Lucknow pitch after the low-scoring affair against New Zealand in the second T20I. The Men in Blue beat the hosts by six wickets to draw level in the series but the victory did not stop Hardik Pandya from expressing his disappointment over the pitch.
Batting first, New Zealand put up a poor show with the bat. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually managed to post a paltry total of 99 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs.
Everyone was expecting India to wrap up the win quickly but there was more surprises in the store. India too struggled with the bat and managed to cross the finishing line with just 1 ball remaining.
Not a single six was hit during the entire course of the game as batsmen from both the sides struggled to find their timing on the pitch. And following the win, Hardik Pandya could not hide his frustration over the pitch, making it clear that it was not suited for a T20 game. He also had some words of advice for the curators.
“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,” Hardik Pandya said after the game.
Speaking further, the allrounder said that he was happy with the way the bowlers performed and restricted New Zealand to a below par total.
“Other than that, I’m happy. Even 120 would have been a winning total. Bowlers – they stuck to their plans and ensured they did not rotate the strike. We kept rotating the spinners. Dew didn’t play much part in this. They were able to spin the ball more than us. It was carrying through well. It was a shocker of a wicket,” he added.
Don’t need to panic: Hardik Pandya
India’s approach with the bat did manage to leave many surprised. Not many would have expected India to take the match to the last over but Hardik Pandya said he was always confident about chasing down the total.
“I always believed that we’ll be able to finish the game, but it went quite late. All these games are important with the moments. You don’t need to panic because it was about rotating the strike rather than taking the pressure. That’s exactly what we did. We followed our basics,” said Pandya.
With the series now locked at 1-1, both the teams will have everything to play for in the third and final T20I. The last match of the series is scheduled to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 1.