High scores are expected in the World T20 as India continues its practice of producing batsmen-friendly pitches for limited overs games, unlike the traditional turning pitches used for Test cricket.
India has recently produced some very benign pitches, including in last year’s five-game home one-day series where South Africa piled up 438-4 at Mumbai in the decider.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes only the best spin bowlers will be able to make an impact.
“There will be more batting-friendly pitches because it’s a T20 format and the ball won’t get much old,” said Latif.
“Only spinners like (Ravichandran) Ashwin, (Shahid) Afridi and (Ravindra) Jadeja could trouble the opposition, and that too because they have loads of T20 experience behind them. Otherwise, I don’t see spinners getting huge turn.”
South Africa all-rounder David Miller feels the pitches won’t get a chance to provide aid to spin.
“It’s only a match of three hours duration and so [pitch] is not going to break up,” Miller said. “We have to assess it quickly and react to that.”
South Africa all-rounder Jean-Paul Duminy though is fancying his prospects at the World T20 with his handy spin bowling and as one of the better players of slow bowling on surfaces like in India.
“Indian pitches are going to give me a lot of opportunities,” Duminy said ahead of the World T20 “Hopefully, I can make them count. But generally guys have gained experience to play this game in different conditions in different ways.”
England’s big-hitting batsman Alex Hales agrees with Duminy that batsmen have methods of combating any turn that does arise.
“If you look down our order there are good players of spin,” Hales said in reference to Joe Root and captain Eoin Morgan. “Everyone has to have their own methods. Some like to move their feet and some guys are sweeping, but we’re all confident in our own methods.”
The Super 10 stage of the World T20 gets underway on Tuesday with a Group 2 game between India and New Zealand at Nagpur.
Australia, Pakistan and a qualifier from an ongoing preliminary league complete the group. The West Indies, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and a qualifier will be in Group 1.
The semifinals will be played in New Delhi and Mumbai and the final will be at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on April 3.
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