The fresh drop-in pitch at Nassau County ground is not satisfactory to India captain Rohit Sharma, as it gives him a bruised right bicep just before a vital T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on Sunday in New York.
However, such conditions have not been found back home in India hence they might be appreciated by fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
He scored 52 off 37 balls before being forced to retire hurt after a delivery from Ireland pacer Josh Little bounced unexpectedly high, causing him to miss a pull shot and get hit on the bicep of his right arm.
“Yes, yes. Just little sore (the arm), I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware of what it’s like playing on a five-month-old pitch,” said Rohit with deadpan face while speaking at post-match presentation ceremony.
But then again, he seemed bothered by the way the ball would suddenly kick up out of nowhere due to variable bounce.
“I don’t think even when we batted second that wicket settled down. So there was enough for the bowlers,” said Virat Kohli whose pace quartet had Ireland all out for 96 runs in 16 overs.
These were ideal conditions since three out of his four fast bowlers had plenty of experience playing Test cricket.
At least for this forthcoming game, bringing four spinners means that Rohit does not know if they are needed in New York or not yet.
“No,I don’t think we can play four spinners here(laughs). When we picked the team, we wanted to have that balance. If conditions are there for seamers ,we wanted to have that. Spin will play a part later on (West Indies).
To some extent however, the Indian skipper doesn’t know what will be available during Sunday’s clash against Pakistan.
He was happy about his own innings as he had kicked off the tournament on a good note.
As expected, Bumrah has no complaints about the conditions after bowling 2/6 in 3 overs
“For me coming from India, with the ball seaming around I wouldn’t complain when there’s help for bowlers. In this format you have to adapt to the conditions , you have to be proactive,” he said.
The Irish captain of Ireland’s cricket team, Paul Stirling admitted that the late Indian performance allowed him no chance to take risks and play aggressively.
“We just had to put some pressure onto the Indian bowlers. They hardly erred at all really. The groupings were outstanding and so were the lengths.”
