Gautam Gambhir blasts Lucknow pitch after 2nd India vs New Zealand T20I: It was a sub-standard wicket

Gautam Gambhir stated that the pitch in Lucknow for the second T20I between India and New Zealand wasn’t on top of things for T20 cricket.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jan 29, 2023 23:07 IST

It was a sub-standard wicket: Gambhir blasts Lucknow pitch after 2nd IND vs NZ T20I. Courtesy: AP

By India Today Web Desk: Former batter Gautam Gambhir was extremely important of the pitch on the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow throughout the second T20I between India and New Zealand on Sunday, January 29.

After being put in to bat first, the Black Caps huffed and puffed to 99 for the lack of eight wickets. Thereafter, India took 19.5 overs to go previous the end line. Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten 26 and gained the Player of the Match award.

Gambhir was clear-cut in saying that the pitch in Lucknow wasn’t fitted to T20 cricket because the spinners have been getting a variety of help from the floor.

“Let’s be very honest, it was a sub-standard wicket and not a T20 wicket. You don’t expect this kind of purchase from the spinners and it was tough,” Gambhir was quoted as saying on Star Sports after the match.

However, Gambhir, who retired from all types of cricket in December 2018, felt that the Indian batters may have performed higher towards high quality spin-bowling that the Kiwis had for the sport.

“When you are chasing 100, your ability to play spin, your ability to rotate the strike comes into the picture. I was surprised by the way Indian batters played against spin. They could have played much better and shouldn’t have taken that deep,” he acknowledged.

Gambhir additionally had phrases of reward for Mitchell Santner and stated that the New Zealand skipper was spot-on together with his management qualities.

“New Zealanders were very competitive and brilliant captaincy from Mitchell Santner. They were able to take the game so deep,” Gambhir added.

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Edited By:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published On:

Jan 29, 2023