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Follow UsAnd so it has ended. The New York leg of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The destroyers of batters, their form, and confidence.
It has been a wicket that has carried the soul of a batter from the 60s, packed in the body of a doctored uncovered surface from the same era. A bowlers’ delight and a batters’ nightmare, the Nassau County Cricket Stadium made 120 seem like what even 200 didn’t just a month ago in the Indian Premier League.
In what was their first outing at this venue in supposedly their home World Cup, USA’s batting innings seemed to be stuck in limbo. In perhaps the most alien conditions they would have ever encountered, the USA were 26/3 after eight overs, the lowest they have ever scored after the first eight overs in their short 30-game T20I history.
As the innings approached the now-or-never stage, some stroke of luck and courage to counterattack India’s sixth bowler, Shivam Dube, gave USA their first over with runs in the double digits. That started a mini-recovery resulting in them adding 84 runs in the last 12 overs, the joint-most a team has added here after the 12th over mark
While it was below par for a team like India, even on a wicket like this, it was still more than the Netherlands, Ireland, and Sri Lanka have managed in their first innings here.
By his own admission, the wobble ball is Saurabh Netravalkar’s stock ball. And by his own admission, even he doesn’t know which way will it move. Neither did Virat Kohli who had a feel for the one going away from him and registered his first-ever duck in a T20I World Cup. And a golden one at that.
Read: Old habits troubling Kohli in the New York-leg of the T20 World Cup
Taking giant leaps into being a giant killer, Netravalkar made this World Cup even more memorable for himself by removing Rohit Sharma off the second ball of his second over. Oracle's recruiters must be buzzing with phone calls since they have been able to identify talented overseas pacers a lot better than a few IPL teams back in India.
When India lost Rishabh Pant in the eighth over, the target was still 67 runs away, and the equation was nearing a run-a-ball. A situation from where India beat Pakistan three days ago.
“The Indian dugout would have been nervous at some stage,” said USA’s head coach Stuart Law after the game. If not when Pant fell, the Indian dugout would surely have been nervous a few tight overs later when the equation became 48 off 37. At stake was more than a place for the Super Eights, for India have never lost to a non-Test playing nation in a T20I.
Out in the middle, standing between the USA and history, were Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube. Two men fighting for their reputations and against the demons in the pitch.
While being at the summit of T20I rankings and deservingly at that, Surya has been carrying a debatable tag of a minnow basher. Playing his third T20 World Cup, he has failed to come good against arch-rivals Pakistan, a game that inevitably becomes a litmus test for a player’s caliber in the eyes of the masses. What also didn’t help was his failure against England in the semi-final of the previous edition in 2022 despite being the best batter of the tournament. The knives sharpened further against arguably the best T20 batter for India after a lukewarm 50-over World Cup last year.
Dube, on the other hand, has been in a slump ever since his announcement in the World Cup squad. A crucial drop catch against Pakistan further damaged his reputation. All this comes at a time when he is supposedly taking the place of a few fan favorites like Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh.
It was a partnership in which both had a point to prove. It was played on the most difficult surface cricket could offer, against an opponent with everything to win and nothing to lose.
The foundation of the partnership was patience and perseverance. For the first 38 balls of them being together, a lone boundary that was hit came off an outside edge. Only 24 runs were added in this period.
Never once did the USA make it seem like it was their first World Cup. Despite it being their first game here, their bowlers were ready with plans for the deck and for the batters. Choosing to stick with what they thought was right, the USA kept their left-arm spinners away from Dube in what Law termed as a smart move despite the result.
Shadley van Schalkwyk bowled three miserly overs, and the ex-Kiwi Corey Anderson used his change-ups well. Dube survived umpteen plays and misses while Surya got a reprieve when a sharp chance at third man was put down by Netravalkar in the only low point for him in the game.
It was after he had faced 25 balls that Dube provided India the room to breathe by launching into a fullish ball from Anderson to hit his first six since arriving in the USA. As per his own admission, only in first-class cricket did he have to wait this long before hitting a six. Even the practice pitches here have been such that the batters are left to do away with any range hitting.
The game was pretty much sealed when Surya timed an overpitched delivery from van Schalkwyk over the long-off fence two overs later, bringing the equation back to a run-a-ball. This happened just after the only display of USA’s rookie status when they were charged five penalty runs for failing to start a third over (16th of the innings) within the 60-second limit for the third time in the innings. Stuart Law, however, felt this had no effect on the end result.
While Surya completed his half-century before the duo wrapped up the chase, what we saw was both him and Dube passing a stern test in adaptability. Surya had to fire other arrows in his queer and not rely solely on the ramps. Meanwhile, Dube had to curb his natural instinct of six or nothing.
Asked if it was difficult to bat first or chase, Dube was candid enough to accept that batting itself was difficult no matter when you do it. But it is Law who summed up the New York leg better than anyone could- “Batting has been brutal here and bowling has been the king. Sometimes that makes for a good watch.”
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