Reports | Lucknow pitch curator sacked for preparing slow and turning pitch in second T20I against New Zealand

India scripted a comfortable win in the second T20I against New Zealand on a spin-friendly pitch in Lucknow on Sunday in a low-scoring thriller. The hosts restricted the Kiwis to a paltry 99/8 but India only managed to chase down the target in the final over of the innings. In the post-match presentation, Hardik Pandya labelled the pitch a ‘shocker' before stating it was unfit for T20I albeit opposition skipper Mitchell Santner had a differing opinion. In the latest developments, according to a report published by PTI, the pitch curator for the encounter has been sacked owing to the kind of surface he prepared for the fixture. 

"The curator has been removed and replaced by Sanjeev Kumar Agarwal who is a very experienced curator. We will turn things around in a month,” an anonymous Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association source was quoted saying by PTI. 

"A lot of domestic cricket was already played on all the center wickets ahead of the T20I and the curator should have left one or two strips for an international game. The surface was overused and due to the bad weather, there was not enough (time) to prepare a fresh wicket," the source added.

The report further mentioned that Kumar, who has previously curated pitches in Bangladesh, would work with veteran BCCI curator Taposh Chatterjee to prepare appropriate surfaces according to the format. 

The series decider between India and New Zealand will be played in Ahmedabad on Wednesday and both teams would be looking forward to clinch the series with a victory.