T20 World Cup, India vs Pakistan- Virat Kohli wary of dew factor – The slow wickets in the UAE had some good low-scoring contests in IPL 2021 but at the same time, it wasn’t favoured by batsmen. With T20 World Cup, the pitches were expected to behave the same way. But India captain Virat Kohli believes the wickets will be far better. However, he is worried about the dew factor.
“Looking at the IPL 2021 final, I believe that the quality of pitches definitely is going to be far better in this T20 World Cup. Also, it being an ICC tournament, we know that the standard of pitches has to be maintained to a certain degree which is consistent across all venues,” Virat Kohli said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli wary of dew factor in UAE but expects pitches to be far better than IPL 2021
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However, the dew factor like it played a major role in the IPL 2021 could continue to impact decision making and matches in the World Cup, especially at Sharjah which turned out to be a graveyard for batsmen.
💬 💬 We are confident in terms of execution of our plans.
Captain @imVkohli on #TeamIndia‘s approach ahead of the #T20WorldCup opener against Pakistan. #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/BiMug1gfUh
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 23, 2021
“Dew factor will be prominent as we head into this time of the year in Dubai. That is also going to help the pitches play much better. I believe Abu Dhabi and Dubai are going to be best pitches out of all the venues. Sharjah more or less will stay more or less true to its nature, which is slow and low and I don’t see myself too many high scoring matches,” Kohli said.
Kohli further stated that the pitches in the IPL were a compromise considering the T20 World Cup was on the horizon.
T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli wary of dew factor in UAE but expects pitches to be far better than IPL 2021
“I knew that to protect the pitches for a tournament like World Cup, there had to be some compromise in playing conditions when we played the IPL. We all understood that and wicket in the IPL final (between CSK and KKR) was very very good,” Kohli explained.
India will begin their World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday in an evening match in Dubai where the IPL 2021 Final was held. While that was a high-scoring match, the strip for Sunday is expected to be different and that will be tricky for both Virat Kohli’s Team India and Babar Azam’s Pakistan.
T20 World Cup: Virat Kohli wary of dew factor in UAE but expects pitches to be far better than IPL 2021
Babar Azam & Co having played most of their home games there would be best-placed to take advantage of the situation. As for India, they will have to bank on the IPL experience. The other aspect that could help India is the presence of mentor MS Dhoni in the dug-out. MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings won the IPL 2021 Final playing on slow pitches and his experience will benefit the team.
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