'Wickets were not made for T20...' - Hardik Pandya lashes out at Lucknow surface after 2nd T20I against NZ

Indian team under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya locked horns with New Zealand in the second of the three-match T20I series at the AB Vajpayee Ekana International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, the 29th of January. This match between India and New Zealand will always be recorded in the history books in many different ways, be it as a low-scoring affair where both teams struggled or the first match ever in the history of T20I ended without even a single six.

Although the Ekana Stadium’s surface was under the scanner in the aftermath of this match between the men in blue and the Blackcaps. In an exact line of events, Indian skipper Hardik Pandya also lashed out at the quality of wickets provided so far in the T20I series, especially the one in Lucknow.

To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket - Hardik Pandya

"To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played so far. I don't mind difficult wickets. I am all up for that, but these two wickets were not made for T20. Somewhere down the line the curators or the grounds that we are going to play in should make sure they prepare the pitches earlier. Other than that, happy. Even 120 would have been a winning total," said Hardik during the post-match conversation in the aftermath of the win against New Zealand in the second T20I.

"I always believed that we'll be able to finish the game, but it went quite late. All these games are important with the moments. You don't need to panic because it was about rotating the strike rather than taking the pressure. That's exactly what we did. We followed our basics," he added later.

Later on, the 29-year-old also appreciated the bowlers' performance in the series' penultimate fixture.

"They stuck to their plans and ensured they (New Zealand) did not rotate the strike. We kept rotating the spinners. Dew didn't play many parts in this. They were able to spin the ball more than us. It was carried through well,” Hardik concluded.