The pitch at the Nassau County Cricket stadium is unpredictable at the moment and it isn’t good news exactly for India. The Men in Blue will take on Ireland at the same venue in their T20 World Cup opener on June 5. If one thought that India’s warm-up game against Bangladesh could help gauge the surface, then they were wrong.
How will Nassau County pitch behave for IND vs IRE?
The surface clearly has been bowling friendly so far at the venue. IND vs IRE will only be the second match that will be held at the venue and experts and former cricketers reckon that the nature of the surface is unlikely to change in time for India’s opening game. Former India opener Aakash Chopra explains how drop-in pitches take time to settle even if they were the flattest pitches in the world. He adds that while it is possible for the pitch to become better for IND vs PAK, there are little chances of any changes for the game against Ireland.
The SA vs SL clash at the same venue turned out to be a low-scoring thriller that saw the game swing in favour of both teams at various points. The precarious pitch barely favoured the batters while it offered uneven bounce for the pacers and a juicy track for spinners. The game saw Sri Lanka being bundled out for their lowest-ever T20I score, just 77 runs.
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It wasn’t easy for South Africa to chase down the low-total and they barely managed to survive a scare to win their first match. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan seemed disappointed with the pitch and regarded it as not an ideal surface for T20 cricket.
What Rahul Dravid had to say?
India coach Dravid lauded the facility of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium but expressed his skepticism over players injuring their calves and hamstrings.
“It’s great to get a good hit-out. Obviously, it looks like a good facility in terms of as quickly as they have put up. The ground is a bit soft, the guys could feel that on the hamstring and the calves. So that’s the area we need to ensure that we are working around to ensure that the guys are looking after. It does feel a little bit heavy underneath,” Dravid said in a video released by the BCCI.
“A little bit spungy at times but I thought we coped really well, we managed that really well. The batters had put an above-par score on that wicket and the bowlers came out and bowled really well. All and all we got run-around and to get a game here is really nice. hopefully we can prepare well for the next couple of days and be ready,” Dravid added.
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