Tough, low and inconsistent – Pooran on Guyana pitch

Nicholas Pooran played his career-best innings in the second T20 International at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Pooran slammed 62 from 33 balls which included six maximums, the most he has ever struck in a T20I innings.
Speaking ahead of the third match, Pooran said West Indies, after facing 47 dot balls, are working on getting a better dot ball percentage, but the wickets in Guyana are not making it easier.

“It’s a big concern (batting against spin) and we spoke about it, the wicket in Guyana is tough, low and inconsistent. We are trying to work on our dot-ball percentage, and playing in Guyana doesn’t make it easier for the batsmen. We spoke about it yesterday as well, we have our plans and hopefully today, we can go in and eliminate the dot-ball percentage.
“It wasn’t easy in the last game; in Guyana wickets: whichever batsman is in, you have to take advantage of that. I’m blessed and talented and work really hard, happy for yesterday. Hopefully, we can be more positive today and we felt Shadab Khan was the biggest threat being the leg-spinner and he didn’t get any wickets yesterday. Mohammad Hafeez bowled really well, yesterday (Saturday) was his day; hopefully, our batsmen have different plans today (Sunday) and put pressure on him today,” Pooran disclosed.
Historically, the Providence pitch is slow and hard for batsmen, especially in T20I cricket. The highest team total at Providence came in March 2010 with England scoring 191-5 against the West Indies. The second highest team total is 173-7, scored by Sri Lanka, while Pakistan’s 157-8 in the second T20I on Saturday was the third highest team total.
West Indies’ highest T20 total at Providence is 150-4, which came in that same match. Historically, the National Stadium at Providence is not a happy hunting ground for the men in maroon. Prior to the start of this series, the head curator said the new and improved surface at Providence will see team totals of 170-180.
Pakistan in that second T20I with Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan at the crease looked set to score that 170-180, but they fell short to 157-8. With the rains persisting in Guyana, both teams will have to consider the amount of moisture in the pitch for the final T20I set for tomorrow, Tuesday, August 3. (Brandon Corlette)