It was a used wicket, but a pretty good surface: Kane

Even the ICC admitted that Wednesday’s match was supposed to be played on the centre pitch before they decided to play the game on the two-match old strip

Though there was a storm over the pitch which was used for the semi-final between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, NZ skipper Kane Williamson rated it a good surface.

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Rohit Sharma & Co outclassed NZ by 70 runs in a game which witnessed 724 runs in 98.5 overs even as India pacer Mohammed Shami claimed a seven-wicket haul. Interestingly, it was the third game on the same pitch after South Africa’s 229-run win over England and then India’s 302-run win over Sri Lanka.

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Even the ICC admitted that Wednesday’s match was supposed to be played on the centre pitch before they decided to play the game on the two-match old strip.

At the post-match press conference, Williamson was asked whether there was anything wrong with the pitch. He said: “No. Yeah, it was a used wicket, but a pretty good surface really. They got plenty out of it in the first half of the match. And conditions I guess change under lights. It’s disappointing to get to this stage and not go further, but at the same time, you reflect on the seven weeks rather than a couple of small moments. We lost to a better side.”

When India’s opening batsman Shubman Gill was asked about the pitch controversy, he said: “I just found out that there was a controversy about the pitch. What was the controversy?”

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