"What sort of tournament is this?" - Aakash Chopra criticizes pitch for SA vs AFG 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final
Aakash Chopra has questioned the International Cricket Council (ICC) for staging the 2024 T20 World Cup on virtually unplayable pitches. He particularly criticized the pitch for the semi-final clash between South Africa and Afghanistan.
The Proteas defeated the Afghans by nine wickets in the first semi-final in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, on Wednesday, June 26. They bundled Rashid Khan and company out for 56 and achieved the target with nine wickets and 67 deliveries to spare.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that the Brian Lara Cricket Academy pitch in Tarouba was responsible for Afghanistan's collapse, irrespective of the potent bowlers in South Africa's lineup.
"If it's a semi-final game and a team gets out for 56, it means there was something in the pitch, whether it was Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje or Tabraiz Shamsi. Only one person reached double figures, that was Azmatullah Omarzai, and you couldn't have fought with 56. The ball was moving, going fast, left-right and up-down. What sort of tournament is this?" he said (12:55).
While acknowledging that the New York pitch was expected to be seamer-friendly, the former India opener also questioned the surface for the second semi-final in Guyana.
"If the pitches are not proper, how can cricket be good? The pitch was not good in New York. It's still okay as it was a drop-in and a new pitch. The ball was turning so much in Guyana, where teams were getting out for 75, and here the team was bowled out for 103," Chopra elaborated.
New Zealand were bowled out for 75 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana in a Group C game against Afghanistan. England were bundled out for 103 in the second semi-final against India at the same venue.
"It's seriously a third-class pitch" - Aakash Chopra on the Tarouba surface
Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Tarouba pitch was almost as unplayable as the New York one.
"Everyone said the New York pitch is bad. Did anyone see the Tarouba pitch? It's seriously a third-class pitch and I had tweeted this on the 14th that you are focussing on New York and someone should look there as well. Some balls were going along the pitch and some were hitting the head. What are you doing?" he said (12:25).
The renowned commentator added that Afghanistan were expected to struggle on such a surface.
"That's why we said Afghanistan had very little chance when we were previewing that game because facing fast bowling was going to be very difficult on this pitch and the fast bowlers who have height would destroy you, and that's exactly how it happened," Chopra explained.
Chopra concluded by stating that the tournament has been an experiment to test the cricket fans' patience and commitment. He pointed out that the first semi-final started at 6 AM IST and the second semi-final continued till 1:30 AM IST the next day.