Despite India's tense six-wicket win over New Zealand in the second T20I, captain Hardik Pandya slammed the'spin-dominant' pitch here, calling it a shocker and unsuitable for T20 cricket.
Arshdeep Singh (2-7), Yuzvendra Chahal (1-4), Kuldeep Yadav (1-17), Deepak Hooda (1-17), Washington Sundar (1-17), and Hardik Pandya (1-25) bowled brilliantly to restrict New Zealand to 99/8 in 20 overs.
India were in trouble after being reduced to 50/3 in 10.4 overs while chasing a small total on a difficult pitch, but Suryakumar Yadav once again showed his class.
Yadav batted crucially (26 not out off 31 balls), formed crucial partnerships with Washington Sundar (10) and Hardik Pandya (15 not out), and hit the winning boundary for India in the final over.
"To be honest, it was a surprise wicket. So far, we've played two games. I don't mind playing on difficult pitches. I'm all for it, but these two wickets aren't designed for T20. Somewhere down the road, the curators or the grounds where we'll be playing should make sure to prepare the pitches ahead of time "In the post-match presentation, Hardik Pandya stated.
Despite India's tense victory, Pandya had faith in himself and Suryakumar to complete the game.
"I always thought we'd be able to finish the game, but it took a long time. All of these games are crucial. You don't need to panic because the goal was to rotate the strike rather than to take the pressure. That's precisely what we did. We stuck to our fundamentals "He stated.
The captain was pleased with the bowlers' performance, saying they stuck to their plans.
"Aside from that, I'm content. A winning total of 120 would have sufficed. Bowlers: they stuck to their plan and did not rotate the strike. We continued to spin the spinners. Dew didn't have much of an impact on this. They were able to spin the ball faster than we could. It was well carried out. It was a shocking wicket "Hardik said.