Ahead of today’s series-deciding third match against New Zealand, India’s T20I vice-captain Suryakumar plays down Lucknow pitch controversy; says wicket doesn’t matter a lot
Suryakumar Yadav with head coach Rahul Dravid at Ahmedabad yesterday. Pic/PTI
India’s T20 vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday played down the Ekana Stadium pitch controversy, saying the wicket doesn’t matter a lot and they are “fine” with any type of surfaces.
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India skipper Hardik Pandya had termed the Ekana pitch a “shocker” after a tense 100-run chase against New Zealand, which was achieved in the penultimate delivery of the second T20I. The curator was blamed for the fiasco and had been sacked.
“We [Hardik and me] had a chat later on, and it was like, whatever we get in future we will go with it.
It’s completely fine,” Surya said on the eve of the series-decider at Motera.
“It doesn’t matter what soil you play on. These are the things which aren’t in your control. We did what we had in our control, we had to adapt, apply on that ground and move on with the situation. But it was an exciting game.
“Any game, ODI or T20I, low or high scoring, if there’s competition in the game, wickets, I don’t think, matter a lot. You go out there, have a challenge, accept it and move on,” Surya added.
In tricky conditions, New Zealand had reduced India to 83-7 and the hosts needed 17 runs from the last two overs, with Surya and Hardik in the middle. The duo brought down the equation to six runs from the last over. “At that time, it was very important for us to have good communication and have a nice atmosphere as we knew that it was a little tense in the last over. We were just having a laugh, backing each other and telling each other whoever got an opportunity, let’s try and finish the game,” he said about their strategy.
Lucknow curator sacked
The curator of the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow has been removed from his job after preparing a “shocker of a pitch” for the second T20I against New Zealand.
Though India won the game on Sunday with a ball to spare, skipper Hardik Pandya did not mince his words, calling the Lucknow wicket a “shocker”.
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