"Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi got out trying to do the same" - Salman Butt on dismissal of Indian batters in 2nd T20I vs New Zealand

Salman Butt has pointed out that batters from both teams were often caught in two minds during the second T20I of the ongoing series between India and New Zealand on Sunday, January 29.

The former Pakistan captain feels that it was due to the spin-friendly nature of the pitch at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Butt mentioned that batters tend to get out while trying to do something extravagant on such surfaces.

He underlined that Indian batters Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi lost their wickets attempting to clear the boundary on the leg side. Speaking on his YouTube channel after India's six-wicket win, Butt said:

"Batters from both teams were run out in the match. There is a lot of confusion in the minds of batters when they are playing on such a track. They don't know if they have to go for big shots or not.

"One tries to play the sweep or the reverse sweep to counter the turn and bounce. He wants to think outside the box, and that causes his downfall. We saw how Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi got out while trying to do the same."

Notably, Gill got out to Michael Bracewell in the fourth over of the Indian run-chase. The opener attempted to play the pull shot against the spinner. However, he failed to get a proper connection and was caught at the deep square leg boundary.

Tripathi, on the other hand, fell to Ish Sodhi in the 11th over. The right-handed batter's sweep shot went straight into the hands of Glenn Phillips, who was stationed at deep midwicket.

Chasing a modest target of 100 runs, Hardik Pandya and Co. were able to secure a nervy last-over win against the Kiwis to level the three-match series at 1-1. Suryakumar Yadav was the only batter to cross the 20-run mark in the contest, remaining unbeaten at 26.

---

"It was a shocking pitch" - Salman Butt on the wicket used for second T20I between India and New Zealand

Salman Butt also questioned the nature of the Lucknow wicket, suggesting that these kinds of tracks should not be prepared for T20 fixtures.

The 38-year-old reckoned that there wasn't an even contest between the bat and the ball, given that the pitch completely favored the bowlers. Butt highlighted that batters struggled to get going as there was something on offer for both spinners and fast bowlers.

On this, he said:

"It was a bad pitch. You cannot have such wickets in T20 matches. Yes, there needs to be some sort of a challenge. However, this was more than a challenge. The ball was skidding for the fast bowlers, while the spinners were getting a lot of bounce and turn. The batters could never really settle in. It was a shocking pitch."

It is worth mentioning that no sixes were hit during the encounter. The New Zealand team managed to hit just six boundaries, while the Indian side finished with eight.

The third and final T20I between the two nations is set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1.