Captains blame Kotla pitch by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	SM Katich
Event:	Champions League 2009/10

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DateLine: 10th October 2009

 

New South Wales and Diamond Eagles’ skippers expressed their displeasure over the Kotla pitch after their CL T20 clash.

 

Both captains agreed that it was a tough surface they played on. There was hardly any bounce on the wicket and players visibly did not seem to be too happy with that.

 

"The conditions were particularly tough and the bounce wasn't great at all. It was not close to what we had played during the last three practice games that we had," Dippenaar pointed out.

 

"After the first six overs, we knew that a total of 130-140 would be defendable. And it turned out to be just that as well. The wicket was low and slow," Simon Katich said.

 

New South Wales compiled 144 opting to bat, while, Diamond Eagles could follow it up with just 91 losing nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs, losing by 53 runs.

 

"We knew that the pitch was going to be slow and low, but we could not anticipate it to this extent. The toss finally became very important. But ultimately, we have ourselves to be blamed for the defeat. We not only failed to adapt to the conditions but we also dropped a catch and then missed a few chances as well," said Dippenaar.

 

The New South Wales outfit, studded with seven international-level cricketers, brought in all their experience to handle the tough conditions.

 

"We are still adapting to the conditions here, but the presence of the star players like Brett Lee and Stuart Clark has certainly helped us to deal with the pressure situation better. In fact, having Lee upfront was a plus point for us," Katich said.