Langer compares Ekana pitch to WACA
Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer compared the Ekana pitch to the famed Perth track of yesteryears, admitting that the home team has been unable to adapt to the pace and bounce on offer on it.
The LSG have struggled on their home surface, losing all three matches here. They have gone down by six and seven wickets to Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans, respectively, before suffering a 40-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.
The LSG lost six of their eight matches here last season, including five in a row. Overall, they have managed just nine wins from 25 games at the venue.
“The pitch here is very different than in most of India. It’s a brilliant cricket pitch. You see pace and bounce, and we just haven’t quite adjusted to it,” Langer said at the post-match press conference.
“I thought we’d started off, we’d been bowling quite well in it. We bowled well in the first game, but we’re just not adjusting to the extra pace and bounce. We saw that we’ve been out to the short ball a number of times, our batters.
“We see a lot of the wickets in India where the ball doesn’t bounce very high. This is like playing at the WACA. There’s real pace and bounce. You’re seeing some really interesting cricket being played here,” he added.
Despite boasting a formidable batting line-up featuring skipper Rishabh Pant, Australia’s Mitchell Marsh, South Africa T20 captain Aiden Markram and the flamboyant Nicholas Pooran, LSG have struggled to put up competitive totals at home, managing 141, 164 for 8 and 119 in three games.
“Our batting’s just not quite clicking, and who would have thought at the start of the season our batting wouldn’t click with the calibre of players we’ve got? We could never have read that, so we’re working hard on it.”
The former Australia coach, however, had words of praise for the bowling unit, predicting a bright future for young pacers Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan.
“Last year our numbers were incredible and we were ruing the fact that a lot of our bowlers were injured or coming back from injury or not quite fit.
“This year, our bowlers have been a real credit. I think Mohsin Khan, again outstanding. Prince Yadav, I think they’re both two players who will play for India. No question in my mind they’ll both play for India.” On whether the franchise had any say in pitch preparation, Langer dismissed the notion.
“No, no, no. Their groundsmen here: I’ve said for the last couple of years this is one of the best pitches in India.”
“It’s a big ground. It’s a brilliant bat... it’s a great cricket wicket actually and we just need to adapt to it better.”
Meanwhile, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who struck an unbeaten 43 and picked up a wicket to guide Rajasthan to victory, said the surface was far from an ideal T20 wicket.
“The wicket wasn’t very easy. There was grass, it was a red-soil wicket, so there was bounce as well. Their four fast bowlers were making it swing and seam alongside good pace.
“I wouldn’t say it was ideally a T20 wicket, you couldn’t just go and swing at it and get runs. Fast bowlers from both teams would have enjoyed that they could bounce and seam it,” Jadeja said.
However, the seasoned all-rounder appreciated the consistency of the pitch across both innings.
“What I liked was that the wicket was equal for both. It’s not like how it is sometimes, when batters first get a slow, seaming wicket and then nothing happens in the second innings. Both teams lost two-three wickets in the Powerplay itself.
“It was a challenging T20 match, not the typical one with fireworks from both sides. It challenges you mentally, and skill-wise, you have to be sharp,” he said.
