“There are challenges for batters on this”: Harbhajan Singh on New York pitch ahead of Ind-Pak clash in T20 WC

New York [US], June 8 : Ahead of the much-awaited clash between India and Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh spoke about the pitch conditions of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

India will take on Pakistan in their upcoming match in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the New York Stadium on Sunday.

The Men in Blue are coming into this match after beating Ireland by 8 wickets. Meanwhile, Babar Azam-led Pakistan conceded a disappointing loss against the US in the super-over in their previous game of the marquee event.

Speaking at a special ‘Star Sports Press Room’ organised in New York ahead of the India and Pakistan match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Harbhajan shared his views on the pitch and conditions.

“It is not a flat wicket. There are challenges for the batters on this pitch, but it is playable. It is not an unplayable kind of condition where you cannot bat. India, so far, in this tournament looked the best. They batted the best, they adopted the condition better than the others, and they scored 180 against Bangladesh. Even that 100-odd they chased down in like 9 overs or 10 overs on the other day. I think it’s the mindset. If you face the first ball and the next ball you are worrying about, when the bowler hasn’t even bowled. So, it has a lot to do with the mindset as well. Of course, the condition whatever it is, it’s not going to change. Whatever the conditions, you have to adapt accordingly. You have to manage whether you want to stay inside or outside. The pitch is like that only. The one who adopts the conditions better will win. And the rest will be like the Hyderabad pitch, 200, 250, 300,” Harbhajan was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.

“I don’t think there should be any bowlers over there and the work was going on like a bowling machine. The ball was coming and going. As long as there is a battle between the bat and the ball, cricket will be an interesting game. Otherwise, if the bat dominates, then gradually, as we saw, it will go up and down. Because people have to see the context. When two wrestlers are fighting, if one wrestler comes and drops the other, then who will go to see him winning again and again? When someone comes and hits the big wrestler, then people get interested. So, the battle between the bat and the ball has to be played on a good pitch, where the bowler is also in the game. That would be the right pitch,” the former off-spinner added.

India T20 WC Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan T20 WC Squad: Babar Azam (C), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.

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