‘Gully Cricket Has Better Pitches’: Fans Slam New York Stadium Surface After SL Bowled Out For 77 vs SA In T20 WC Clash

South Africa kicked off their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Group D clash at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Monday, June 3.

With a target of a mere 78, South Africa chased it down in a staggering 16.2 overs. Quinton de Kock was the top-scorer with innings of 20 off 27 balls, while Heinrich Klaseen scored an unbeaten 19 off 22 balls. Aiden Markram (12) and Tristan Stubbs (13) chipped in despite they were dismissed cheaply.

For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga led the bowling attack as he registered the figures of 22/2 with an economy rate of 6.60 in 3.2 overs. Nuwan Thushara and Dasun Shanaka picked a wicket. Shanaka was the most economical for Sri Lanka as he bowled with an economy rate of 2.00 in his three overs spell.

However, the New York pitch has been receiving criticism after Sri Lanka were bundled out for a mere 77 runs in 19.1 overs. Anrich Nortje was the most lethal bowler as he picked four wickets while conceding just seven runs in his four overs.

Even South African batters were struggling to get going and keep their scorecard ticking. Sri Lanka put enough pressure on the South African by making the best use of the tricky pitch. Ultimately, Proteas emerged victorious in the match.

Following the first innings, there were a lot of criticism on USA wickets as many reckoned that it is not an ideal pitch to play T20 cricket. Others observed the outfield of the New York stadium is slow as the ball struggled to reach the boundary.

Here’s how fans reacted to US pitches

The Group D encounter between South Africa and Sri Lanka was the first match of the T20 World Cup 2024 held at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. The warm-up match between India and Bangladesh was played in the New York, where Men in Blue posted a respectable total of 182/5 in 20 overs before restricting Bangla Tigers to 122/9 in the stipulated 20 overs.

In the second innings, Bangladesh batters were struggling to get going, except Mahmuddulah who scored 40 off 28 balls before he was retired hurt due to injury.

The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium was started to built in January 2024