T20 World Cup 2024: Both South Africa and Sri Lanka’s captains have criticised the drop-in pitch at Nassau Stadium for the tournament’s opening match.
The drop-in surface at Nassau Stadium has come under fire following Sunday’s low-scoring T20 World Cup Group D encounter between South Africa and Sri Lanka. Both South African and Sri Lanka captains expressed discontent with the playing surface following a match in which SL was knocked for 77 runs, their lowest T20 total, and the Proteas struggled to chase it down before winning by six wickets in 16.2 overs. Fans and cricket experts alike flocked to social media to critique the quality of the New York pitch, claiming it was not a suitable surface for promoting cricket in the United States.
“The batting was a little up and down… a difficult wicket, but we found a way to score runs. “It’s a tough one from a batting perspective,” South African skipper Aiden Markram said during the post-match presentation. Markram only managed to score 12 runs on the difficult pitch.
Markram underlined the importance of adapting to the pitch circumstances, which featured erratic 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 stated. Despite the limitations, Markram believed that playing repeated matches on the same pitch could give his team a tactical advantage. “We’re obviously fortunate to have our next two games here, as we know what to anticipate. But it’s critical to evaluate as you go around.”
