Australia will take on India in the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Group 1 clash at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia on Monday, June 24. While the Rohit Sharma-led Team India are coming in this match on the back of a 50-run win against Bangladesh, Australia suffered a defeat against Afghanistan on Saturday.
But with a lot of eyes on the upcoming clash as the two cricketing giants take the field, the St Lucia pitch curators shared a game-changing advice. In a tricky condition of St Lucia, the curators insisted India to face Australia with three pacers at the expense of a spinner. They also hinted that playing three spinners won’t affect the side much as it has been a hunting ground, favouring the batters.
One of the members of the ground staff told PTI that the teams after winning the toss, should opt to bat first. “The pitch is nice and hard, should stay the same throughout in a day game. Whichever team bats should score 180 to 200. I prefer to bat and put runs on the board. England batted poorly. The pitch got a bit tricky and the ball was not coming on,” he said.
Another member of the ground staff added, “It gets frier in a day game when the sun is out, it would be a good game. Here we don’t get much spin. We get nice bounce but not a lot of spin on this black soil pitch. I would play an extra pacer. The surface is more suited to the pacers and has consistent pace and bounce. Bowlers will need to bowl well else they get punished.”
It is to be noted that the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium has hosted a total of 23 T20I matches, and the average first inning score is around 166. Among the six black soil pitches, the Australia versus India match will be played on the third surface.