Two years ago, (on October 25, 2015) the Wankhede Stadium witnessed a run feast when South Africa dominated India in all three departments before beating the hosts by a huge margin of 214 runs to win the ODI series 3-2
Two years ago, (on October 25, 2015) the Wankhede Stadium witnessed a run feast when South Africa dominated India in all three departments before beating the hosts by a huge margin of 214 runs to win the ODI series 3-2. Quinton de Kock (109), Faf du Plessis (133) and skipper AB de Villiers (119) showed supreme confidence against India's wayward bowling. The Indian team were then led by MS Dhoni.
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Sudhir Naik
The match was a controversial one with Team India director Ravi Shastri (now, chief coach) and bowling coach Bharat Arun expressing their displeasure over the batting paradise to curator Sudhir Naik. "It's been two years since Wankhede hosted an ODI. There should be more ODI matches here because foreign teams love playing here. They always like such type of wickets — good for batsmen and seamers," Naik, now Mumbai Cricket Association's pitch consultant, told mid-day on Saturday. Naik felt that anything around 300 is a good target to chase on this pitch. "It will be a good fight between India and New Zealand, but the New Zealanders will play well on this pitch. India have a strong batting side that can chase a big score."
Naik, 72, underlined the fact that the teams are not thinking about the pitch and this Indian team are playing with a better mindset. "Nobody has come to me and asked me about the pitch. Since last season, I don't think cricketers are bothered about the pitch. I see a big positive difference with the players and coach. They know that they are capable of getting the desired results on any kind of surface. I think this positive mindset will benefit the Indian team," concluded Naik.
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