India and Pakistan will refurbish their rivalry in their T20 World Cup 2024 showdown at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday.
However, the buildup to the contest has been revolved around the pitch at the ground and its two-paced nature. Even the ICC admitted to the unexpected nature of the drop-in wicket and said it is taking action to mitigate its impact.
T20 World Cup 2024 matches at New York
Matches: 4
Batting first won: 1
Batting second won: 3
Average first innings total: 103
In the previous match, on Saturday between Netherlands and South Africa, the pitch again suited the quicks. Netherlands could only manage 103 runs in its 20 overs and SA needed 18.5 overs to get to the total.
Pitch Report
Of the 49 wickets that have fallen at the Nassau ground, 40 have been taken by pacers. Deliveries have kept low and off similar lengths surprised batters with uneven bounce, making batting hazardous.
In India’s last match, a delivery from Josh Little shot up from a length and struck Rohit Sharma on the shoulder, forcing the skipper to retire hurt. The batting strike rate at Nassau of 88 and the average just under 14 highlight how difficult batting has been.
Only four times, across eight innings, have teams managed to cross 100 runs. The highest total here is 137 managed by Canada against Ireland.
Toss factor
Toss is likely to play a key role in the India-Pakistan encounter. With both units boasting of quality pace batteries, the captain winning the toss would want to bowl first.
In the four matches so far, the captain winning the toss has opted to just once. Wanindu Hasaranga chose to bat against South Africa and lost.
On the other three occasions, the winner has gone on to bowl and won twice – India against Ireland and South Africa against Netherlands. The only captain who won the toss, opted to field and lost was Paul Stirling against Canada.
Source Agencies
