IND vs NZ: Lucknow pitch curator dismissed after immediate action for producing a ‘Rank Turner’

The curator of the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow has been dismissed after designing a “shocker of a pitch” for the second IND vs NZ T20I.

Lucknow Curator sacked after “shocker of a pitch”

India won the fixture on Sunday with a ball to spare, but Indian skipper Hardik Pandya did not dice his words, calling the Lucknow track a “shocker”. New Zealand was restricted to 99/8, and India had difficulty chasing the tiny target on a turning track.

Interestingly, the 2nd IND vs NZ T20I lasted 239 balls – it is the record for most balls in a T20i match without a six being hit.

UPCA addresses the issue

“The curator has been removed and replaced by Sanjeev Kumar Agarwal, a very experienced curator. We will turn things around in a month. A lot of domestic cricket was already played on all the center 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,” a UPCA source briefed PTI.

Though India won the game on Sunday with a ball to spare, Hardik has not been happy with the surfaces on offer so far in the series.

“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.” Hardik had said after the six-wicket win in Lucknow.

Moreover, the T20I series decider will be played in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Take a look at Kuldeep Yadav’s delivery that completely bamboozled Daryl Mitchell in the 2nd IND vs NZ T20I:

Also read: BGT 2023: BCCI to arrange a Special Training Camp for Team India ahead of Australia Test Series

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