“Hardik Pandya was spot on, bowling the spinners a lot more” - Wasim Jaffer impressed with Indian captain’s tactics in Lucknow T20I

Wasim Jaffer praised Team India captain Hardik Pandya for learning from his mistakes in Ranchi and utilizing his spin options in a much better manner in Lucknow on Sunday, January 29. He, however, expressed disappointment over the surface on offer for the T20I in Lucknow, terming it unsuitable for the format.

India beat New Zealand by six wickets on Sunday to level the three-match series at 1-1. Bowling first after losing the toss, the Men in Blue restricted the Kiwis to 99/8. However, the hosts themselves found the going extremely tough in the chase, getting over the line with only one ball to spare.

After India lost four wickets for 70 runs, Suryakumar Yadav (26*off 31) and skipper Pandya (15* off 20) added an unbroken 31 runs for the fifth wicket to take the team home under tense circumstances.

Reflecting on India’s close win in the low-scoring thriller, Jaffer hailed Pandya over his marshaling of bowling resources. He told ESPNcricinfo:

“This time around, Hardik Pandya was spot on, bowling the spinners a lot more. He didn’t use Arshdeep Singh a lot.”

Sharing his thoughts on the Lucknow surface which, like Ranchi, offered plenty of turn, Jaffer admitted:

“The wicket was not suited to T20, but in the end the crowd at least got to see a thriller of a game. Unexpected one, but they’ll be happy that they got to least see India win the game.”

The domestic stalwart added that such surfaces are expected in Lucknow for Ranji Trophy matches, but not for international games. He elaborated:

“Whenever any Ranji game happens in Lucknow, you do get a lot of spin-friendly conditions. I am surprised that they served the same kind of pitch for an international game.”

While Suryakumar top-scored for India with 26*, not a single New Zealand batter could reach the 20-run mark.

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“Indian batters were smarter against spinners than in the Ranchi game” - Wasim Jaffer

Although Team India were not convincing in their chase of 100, Jaffer opined that they handled the Kiwi spinners better as compared to Ranchi. The 44-year-old commented

“Both Indian and New Zealand spinners bowled well. But I thought the Indian batters were smarter against spinners than in the Ranchi game. India handled them really well.”

Concluding his thoughts on the game, the former cricketer reckoned that 120-130 could have been a match-winning score on the Lucknow pitch. He stated:

“I felt 130 would have been a good score or even a tough score to chase. New Zealand were 20-30 runs short. Had they reached probably 120, the way they bowled in the second innings, India would have found it difficult to chase. They bowled really well, like in the last game.”

With the series level 1-1, India and New Zealand will meet in the decider in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1.