Have to wait and see how Sharjah pitch turns up for T20 WC, says Sangakkara

Rajasthan Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara has admitted that the Sharjah wickets are not ideal T20 wickets for batting and it would be interesting to see how they behave in the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Ishan Kishan played an unbeaten knock of 50 runs off just 25 balls with the help of five 4s and three 6s to help Mumbai Indians defeat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets with 70 balls to spare on Tuesday at the Dubai International Stadium.

"These types of pitches are challenging, it is a case of adapting and being smart. We spoke about Sharjah wickets in the lead-up to this game and what the bowlers and batters have to do. We knew the first six overs would be easy and then it would be a case of building a platform and getting to the 15-over mark with wickets in hand so that we capitalise towards the backend. For the bowlers, it is hitting that back of a length," said Sangakkara while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.

 

"These type of pitches really tests your skill, your flexibility, and mindset. At times, playing on pitches like this is not a bad idea. It is not the greatest T20 pitch in terms of a lot of runs, but it is a challenging pitch in terms of playing on it. It is an experience, we will have to wait and see how they turn up for the World Cup," he added.

Earlier, Nathan Coulter-Nile returned with figures of 4-14 as Rajasthan Royals was restricted to 90/9 in the allotted twenty overs. Jimmy Neesham also took three wickets as no Rajasthan batter was able to stay at the crease for a long haul.

"It is just a case of learning from what the Mumbai bowlers did. So, if you are defending a low total, whether it is 90 or whatever total you got, unfortunately, we did not adapt. First, we didn't do that with the bat after getting a very good start and it is just a case of that awareness and adaptability not being our strength on the day," he added.

Rajasthan Royals will next square off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.