Hardik Pandya remarked that the pitches in India’s first two matches of the T20 World Cup 2026 have not been conducive to batting. He expressed a preference for “flatter” wickets. Despite this, India secured victories in both matches, showcasing their strong squad depth and reinforcing their status as favorites to retain the title.
In their game against the USA, India found themselves at 46 for 4 during the powerplay on a challenging Wankhede pitch. However, Suryakumar Yadav’s impressive 84 off 49 balls helped India reach 161 for 9.
Against Namibia in Delhi, India started strong, reaching 104 runs in just seven overs. But they then faced a slowdown, losing three wickets for only 20 runs in the next five overs. India ultimately posted 209 and bowled out Namibia for 116, marking their largest win in T20 World Cup history. After these two games on difficult surfaces, Pandya called for more favorable pitches.
“The last two pitches haven’t been great for batting,” Pandya stated while receiving his Player-of-the-Match award. “The wicket was holding up a bit today. You just adapt and let your skills work. We prefer slightly flatter wickets.”
Ishan Kishan shared Pandya’s views, noting that the pitch conditions were different from what the team expected. He credited Namibia’s bowlers for creating two critical moments, as India fell from 104 for 1 to 124 for 4, and then from 205 for 4 to 209 for 9.
“The wickets were not what we anticipated,” Kishan said during a press conference. “In the death overs, we struggled to hit big sixes, and we must acknowledge Namibia’s bowlers for executing their yorkers and slower deliveries effectively.”
“It was a valuable learning experience,” he added. “If other teams employ similar strategies, we may need to adapt our approach, like utilizing the crease more to unsettle the bowler. It wasn’t about our batters failing to hit sixes, but rather their bowlers bowling excellently in the death overs.”
