India on Sunday won the 2nd T20I to force a decider on 1st February in the 3 match series against New Zealand. India won a low scoring encounter with a ball to spare and 6 wickets in hand. The victory may have rejuvenated the Indian team, but the Indian cricket fraternity slammed the horrible wicket put out by the curators.
Spin dominated the proceedings, as both the teams found it difficult to see the runs come by. Despite winning the game, Indian captain Hardik Pandya did not mince his words when speaking about the wicket.
Gautam Gambhir takes a swipe at the Lucknow pitch –
Speaking in the post game show for Star Sports India Hindi broadcast, Gautam Gambhir couldn’t hide his disgust. The former India opener who is also the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants took a sly dig at the wicket. Gambhir said “If Quinton De Kock sees this pitch it is possible he may not come to play the IPL”. With BCCI set to revert back to the home and away system, LSG is set to play their homes matches at the Ekana stadium in Lucknow.
Spin the way forward during IPL?
Mohammad Kaif was also part of the commentary panel when Gambhir said that KL Rahul might use a lot of spin this season. Gambhir said “Amit Mishra can contribute a lot for LSG this season”. To which Kaif replied “I have understood Lucknow’s strategy though. They can play with a young leggie in Ravi Bishnoi and a veteran in Amit Mishra”.
Hardik Pandya shows his disgust –
Stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya wasn’t one bit impressed when he was speaking in the post game conference. The captain lambasted the pitch and said “to be honest, this was a shocker of a wicket. Two games… the kind of wickets we played on, I don’t mind difficult wickets. I’m all up for that but these wickets are not meant for T20”
India stutter in their chase of 100 –
Indian team and its bowled well to restrict New Zealand to 99 from the 20 overs. Chasing 100 to win, India Shubman Gill early for 11, followed by Ishan Kishan run out for 19. Rahul Tripathi scored 13 before Sundar joined Surya Kumar Yadav and added 20. The stand was broken when Sundar was run out for 10, the winning runs came with India needing 3 off 2 balls as Yadav hit Tickner over the top for a 4.
The final game of the series will be played on 1st February at the Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad. The series is locked at 1-1 with Kiwis wanting to be become the first team to beat India in India in a bilateral series.