IND vs PAK: Irfan Pathan warns about 'unexpected bounce' on New York track, demands 'good pitch' for India-Pakistan clash

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan wants a different pitch to host the high-octane clash between India and Pakistan at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 tonight.

This will be India and Pakistan's second Group A match of the tournament which began on June 1 in the USA and West Indies. Since the beginning of this 20-team event, the Indo-Pak clash, as always, generated the most amount of anticipation from the fans. The wait will be finally over tonight in what is going to be the team's 8th meeting in a T20 WC edition since 2007.

Ahead of the match, there is a lot of talk about the drop-in pitch in New York's Nassau County Stadium not being good enough to host the match. It was confirmed yesterday that the pitch, which hosted the low-scoring thriller between the Netherlands and South Africa yesterday, will host the India-Pakistan match. Irfan Pathan, who won the inaugural T20 World Cup with India in 2007, is against it.

What did Irfan Pathan say?

While speaking to Star Sports in the build-up to the match, Irfan Pathan was asked to shed light on his views on the surface in New York. Pathan, known for his blunt and straightforward opinions, claimed that the toss would make a lot of impact in this particular fixture.

Irfan Pathan believes that the team that will bat first might as well lose a few wickets due to the uneven and unexpected bounce off the surface.

Yesterday in New York, South Africa, and the Netherlands had played out one of the slowest matches ever in T20 cricket. The Dutch had posted a target of 106 which the Proteas initially struggled to respond to. But eventually, the Africans, thanks to David Miller and Tristan Stubbs' crucial knocks, won the tie by 4 wickets with 7 balls left and make it two in two in the ongoing edition of the competition.

It was confirmed later on that the India Vs Pakistan match will also take place in the same pitch but Irfan Pathan wanted the ICC to lay out a better track for the game.

"The impact of winning or losing the toss will impact the bowling if the team chooses to take the stance first. The pitch might have an unexpected bounce and the teams need to face that, they might lose a wicket too. India vs Pakistan match should happen on a good pitch so that the strong team wins and India is a strong team," Irfan Pathan told Star Sports.

Can Pakistan lower the losing deficit tonight in slow conditions?

Pakistan have a very poor record against India at ICC T20 World Cups as they are currently 6-1 down from 7 matches played against India in T20 World Cups. Tonight, in the slow conditions, which might suit Pakistan's gameplay, it will be interesting to see if Babar Azam and co. can lower the deficit by 6-2.