Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez was surprised by the alterations in the pitch conditions in Chennai for the 2023 World Cup matches. He highlighted the contrasting pitch conditions in Chennai for the India vs. Australia match compared to the Bangladesh vs. New Zealand game.
Mohammad Hafeez shared images on X (formerly known as Twitter) showing screenshots of two distinct pitches in Chennai for different matches.
The pictures revealed significant differences, with the India vs. Australia pitch having more rough patches, which could assist spinners. India won that match by six wickets.
Hafeez also posted a video where he highlighted the similarities in pitch conditions for the first two matches played in Hyderabad, Delhi, and Dharamsala.
He expressed his desire for the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to provide a pitch similar to the one used in the opening World Cup match between England and New Zealand, where the Kiwis won by nine wickets. Hafeez shared these thoughts in an interview with PTV Sports:
“At first, tomorrow the decision will be made whether the tournament is being organized by the ICC or the BCCI. Till now, there are three venues where two matches have been played – Hyderabad, Delhi, and Dharamsala.”
“The pitch conditions were similar and it behaved similarly in both games. If the pitch is the same in Chennai, which was used for India vs Australia, then it’s understandable. But if there are slight changes, you can understand who is organizing the tournament.”
He continued:
“There should not be any influence, it’s an ICC tournament. It has to run as per its curators and instructions. If tomorrow’s pitch’s relevance is similar and the momentum is the same, it’s understandable.”
”But if there’s a slight change like if it’s a batting track or different conditions, this is a big question mark and that’s my statement.”
Both India and Pakistan are in excellent form leading up to their highly anticipated 2023 World Cup clash
India and Pakistan are in great form heading into the 2023 World Cup match at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14.
India secured a six-wicket win over five-time champions Australia and followed it up with an easy eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan. Pakistan also performed impressively, defeating the Netherlands by 81 runs and later beating Sri Lanka by six wickets.
India and Pakistan faced each other last during the 2023 Asia Cup Super4, with India winning by a massive 228 runs, thanks to centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
In World Cup matches, their most recent encounter was in 2019, with India winning by 89 runs via the DLS method. Pakistan is currently behind India with a 0-7 record in this prestigious ICC tournament.
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