New York pitch sparks debate after low-scoring match

Former cricketers lashed out at the 'terrible' Nassau County Cricket International Stadium in New York pitch as 157 runs were scored in 35.3 overs at a run rate of 4.4 during the Group D match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 on Monday, report agencies.

The match featured the lowest run-rate in a T20 World Cup. India will play Ireland at the ground today (Wednesday). The stadium will also host the marquee India vs Pakistan clash on June 09.

The venue is slated to host seven more matches throughout the tournament.

Both South Africa and Sri Lanka captains expressed their dissatisfaction with the playing surface after a match that saw Sri Lanka dismissed for a paltry 77 runs, their lowest T20 total, and South Africa struggling to chase it down, eventually securing a six-wicket victory in 16.2 overs. Even fans and cricket experts took to social media to question the quality of the New York pitch, saying it was not an ideal surface to promote cricket in the USA.

"The batting was a little up and down... quite a tough wicket, but we found some way to score runs. It's a tough one from a batting perspective," remarked South African captain Aiden Markram during the post-match presentation. Markram himself managed to score just 12 runs on the challenging pitch.

Markram emphasised the need to adapt to the pitch's conditions, which included unpredictable ball behavior and low bounce. "You try to take the pitch out of it, but if the ball misbehaves or there's low bounce, it's just one of those things and hopefully we can take some learnings out of it," he said. Despite the difficulties, Markram noted that playing consecutive matches on the same pitch could provide his team with a tactical advantage. "Obviously fortunate that we have our next two games here, so we know what to expect. But it's important to assess as you move around."

Sri Lankan captain Wanindu Hasaranga shared similar concerns, highlighting that the pitch was not conducive to high scoring. "Our batters were looking at 160-170. To be honest, this is 120 wicket, especially with our bowlers," Hasaranga commented.

Sri Lanka had opted to bat first, banking on their bowling strength to defend a competitive total. "We went with our bowling strength, that's why we batted first. We wanted to put up a good score and defend it. This is early in the tournament; we wanted to do much better, especially in batting. We know we have bowling strength, so if our batters do well, we can go further," Hasaranga added.

Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis described the pitch as "spicy" while former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said it was "not an ideal" pitch for T20.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan wasn't happy with the conditions on offer, as he described the pitch as 'not ideal', while former South Africa performance coach Prassana Agoram called it 'terrible'.

Moreover, the uneven ground at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium received criticism for the poor outfield as well as former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary pointed out how the ball lost pace when batters tried to hit along the ground.