Sri Lanka and South Africa will begin their respective campaigns in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Monday, June 3. Sri Lanka haven't had great campaigns in the ICC events in the past few years but with the wickets expected to be slow in the Caribbean and the USA, there is an expectation of better returns from the island nation, which has a good mix of experience and youth. South Africa, on the other hand are one of the favourites for the title this time around and would want to begin well in the Big Apple on Monday morning.
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York pitch report
Before the warm-up game, the uncertainty regarding the surface, the ground was at its peak and it was natural since it was the first-ever competitive game at the venue after it was completed last month only. Now that the game has taken place, a few interesting factors will have to be kept in mind given how the surface played. Firstly, it might not be a 200-210 surface and batting first probably be a good decision since there will be day games mostly in the Big Apple.
Secondly, the spongy bounce will bring unsurity in batters' minds and hence will affect scoring as well. Some balls were coming on, a few were turning and some of them really kicked off the surface, which might also be the after-effects of drop-in wicket. Thus, ability to play spin will be tested and whoever gets through that test will be able to score and scoring in the second innings will get tougher and tougher. With the quality of spinners they have, SL vs SA might prove to be a cracking encounter.
Another factor, the thick and sluggish outfield. The lofted shots were dropping into the turf and stopping and hence, running between the wickets will be crucial to setting scores and chasing down totals.
