Despite the fact that India won the match on Sunday with one ball left to play, Hardik Pandya, the team’s captain, criticised the wicket, calling it a “shocker of a pitch.” India struggled to chase down the modest score, winning in 19.5 overs after restricting New Zealand to 99 for 8 in 20 overs. In a game with no sixes, 30 of the 40 overs were bowled by spinners.
“The curator has been removed and replaced by Sanjeev Kumar Agarwal who is a very experienced curator,” a UPCA source was quoted as saying by PTI. “We will turn things around in a month.
“A lot of domestic cricket was already played on all the centre wickets ahead of the T20I and the curator should have left one or two strips for an international game. The surface was overused and due to the bad weather, there was not enough (time) to prepare a fresh wicket.”
Prior to being fired in October of last year, Agarwal had prior expertise creating pitches in Bangladesh. He would collaborate closely with experienced BCCI curator Taposh Chatterjee, the source said.
Hardik Pandya was clearly displeased with the way pitch behaved. The wrestling between bat and ball should hang in balance but ok this pitch, it was clearly one sided. The pitch turning unexpectedly and ball staying low.
After the match, Hardik Pandya told to Star Sports, “To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played on so far. I don’t mind difficult wickets. I am all up for that, but these two wickets are not made for T20. Somewhere down the line, the curators or the grounds that we are going to play in should make sure they prepare the pitches earlier.”
The degraded standard of Ekana Cricket Stadium pitch has dented the clean image of Indian cricket. Fortunately for fans, the ground will not host a single ODI match during the World Cup 2023.
The pitch offered absolutely nothing for shot making and the concern is deeper that one thinks about it. Who ordered the curation of such pitch and what was the time frame under which, the pitch was prepared?
All these questions remained unanswered yet the sacking curator is a good sign for cricket. In Ekana Cricket Stadium, India successfully leveled the series. Now, both of the teams will head to Ahmedabad for the series decider on Wednesday.