India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series courtesy of a thumping win in the second IND vs NZ T20I. Although the Men in Blue won the game comfortably in the end, former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin questioned the conditions that were on offer during the match in Raipur.
IND vs NZ T20I: The Concern
Speaking via his YouTube channel after the game, Ashwin said that dew made things difficult for the bowlers, especially in the second innings, which can be avoided if the games are played in the afternoon.
IND vs NZ T20I: Expert’s Corner
In Ashwin’s words, “The games can be played in the afternoon. Teams like New Zealand will not bother because they don’t have many bowlers, and they know that in such conditions, nothing can be done. But in teams like India, if a player has not done well in two games and comes and bowls in such conditions in the third game and goes for runs, his career will be over. It is unfair to play in such conditions.”
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IND vs NZ T20I: The Scheduling
“How will you fight such conditions as a bowler? We can plan better. If there is dew, at least play in the day. Or choose different venues. Other countries have a record of conditions, how the wicket will react, par scores, etc., for every ground. We must also have such records,” he added.
IND vs NZ T20I: The Opportunity
One of India’s successful bowlers in Test cricket, Ashwin, was optimistic about the organisers for making sure that dew doesn’t play a major role in the upcoming T20 World Cup “I really hope that the India leg matches of the T20 World Cup are not affected by dew. If it is, skill will go out of the window. I sincerely hope there is a little more due diligence on the dew factor in these venues. Once it comes in, you are dependent on the toss a lot. I don’t want to see a multi-nation World Cup that will be dictated to a certain degree by dew. Skill should be at the fore,” Ashwin said.
IND vs NZ T20I: The Praise
Talking about the game, the former Indian player was in awe of Ishan Kishan for his match-winning knock and also praised Kuldeep for his spell of 2 for 35 while admitting that if a bowler is having a bad day, he should have the chance if making a comeback, which isn’t possible due to such conditions. According to Ashwin, “But when you see certain situations where people are also getting hammered because of conditions, if you have a bad day, the conditions should be like you can fight it out with hard work, but that is not happening. Dew can kill the beauty of the game.”
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IND vs NZ T20I: The Series
India has a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, with dew playing a major role in both games and is expected to do so in the third game, which will be played in Guwahati, followed by Visakhapatnam and Thrivanantpuram, respectively.