India v Pakistan: Concerns over state of New York pitch for T20 World Cup clash

Anxiety is growing about the quality of the pitch and outfield at the New York ground that is set to host the much-awaited showdown between India and Pakistan at the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Nassau County International Cricket Stadium has hosted two games so far in the tournament and both have been low scoring games.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 77 against South Africa while Ireland could only manage 96 against India.

Not only were the games low scoring, the playing surface turned out to be borderline dangerous.

The makeshift venue has been built over the last few months with pitches being brought in from Australia and prepared in Florida before being transported to New York. That meant the pitch and square got no time to settle in or practice matches to be played on it to iron out any inconsistencies.

Practically every match there is on a fresh pitch and that is proving to be a nightmare for batsmen. In the game between Ireland and India, batsmen on both sides endured many hits to the body as the ball bounced unexpectedly off the pitch. In fact, captain Rohit Sharma had to retire hurt after a blow to the arm.

After the game, captain Rohit said the pitch did not settle down at any stage.

“It's a new ground, drop-in pitch. We weren't aware of what's it like to pay on a pitch that is five-months old,” the opener said. “It was all about getting used to the conditions, that's why we opted to bowl first. I don't think the wicket settled down even when we batted second.”

The surface in New York has received criticism from all corners. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Trying to sell the game in the States is great. Love it.

“But for players to have to play on this sub standard