ICC rates India's New York tie and historic Afghanistan-South Africa T20 World Cup semifinal as 'unsatisfactory'

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released the pitch ratings for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which ended on June 29 with India emerging victorious over South Africa to claim their second title. In a report published by the governing body, the pitches for the opening two matches held at Nassau County Stadium in New York and the semi-final clash between Afghanistan and South Africa at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba were deemed to be below par, receiving an "unsatisfactory" rating.

Almost two months after the conclusion of the World Cup, which comprised 52 matches, the ICC revealed its conclusions on the pitches used in the tournament. Overall, three pitches received the 'unsatisfactory' rating, 31 were rated 'satisfactory', and only 18 managed to receive a 'very good' rating.

Which three pitches received 'unsatisfactory' rating?

Of the three pitches marked 'unsatisfactory', two belonged to the Nassau County International Stadium, where Sri Lanka were folded for just 77 in the match against South Africa, and Ireland were bundled for 96 against India. In the second game, played two days apart, India captain Rohit Sharma was hit in the upper arm while batting and was forced to retire hurt, while wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was hit on his body.

The pitches used for both matches received considerable backlash from the cricketing fraternity, and the ICC later admitted that they were substandard. There was some remedial measures carried out ahead of the blockbuster clash between India and Pakistan at the same venue, and the pitch used for the June 8 game, where India defended 119 after restricting Pakistan to 113 for seven, was rated as "satisfactory".

However, the surface that received the most criticism was the one used for the historic semifinal tie between Afghanistan and South Africa. Afghanistan, who had scripted a stunning run to the semis for the first time in an ICC tournament, was folded for just 56 runs, where no batter scored more than 10 runs and faced more than 13 deliveries. South Africa later chased it down in 8.5 overs for the loss of one wicket.

After the match, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said: "...That's not the pitch that you want to have a match, a semi-final of a World Cup, on plain and simple. It should be a fair contest.

"I'm not saying it should be flat completely with no spin and no seam movement, but I'm saying you shouldn't have batsmen worrying about going forward and the ball flying over their head. You should be confident in your foot movement and being able to hit through the line or use your skills."

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