Former Bengal batter Shreevats Goswami has lashed out at the Ranchi surface used for the second T20I between India and the West Indies, calling it unfair for the bowlers. A total of 501 runs were scored in 38.3 overs on Friday, October 9.
Speaking on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Goswami believed that the Ranchi surface turned out to be a nightmare for bowlers, adding that such pitches can kill a bowler’s career. Interestingly, all Indian bowlers conceded more than 11 runs per over.
“What do the bowlers do? It’s a nightmare for them, and they can easily get dropped. It’s what happened with Auqib Nabi, who gave over 80 in one game and got dropped. Anshul Kamboj came in and gave over 80 in nine overs and got dropped. So this can kill a bowler’s career. Kuldeep Yadav was looking so threatening in the ODIs. All of a sudden, on a different pitch, he’s getting wacked everywhere,” Goswami said.
On the other hand, the former Australian captain Michael Clarke, who was also part of the same conversation, echoed Goswami’s sentiments, stating that there were too many such pitches in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“We see this in the IPL as well, where some grounds, you don’t know how many to get. These players are so talented now that they are disappointed when they hit a four and think they should have hit that for six. It was fine as long as it wasn’t happening every game, but now even that seems to be changing. In the IPL, there were a few too many such pitches, especially in Hyderabad,” Clarke said.
Delving into the details of the second T20I, India batted first and posted 249/5 in 20 overs. In response, West Indies sealed the deal in just 18.3 overs with six wickets in hand to level the series 1-1.
