New South Wales and Diamond Eagles’ skippers expressed their displeasure over the Kotla pitch after their Airtel CL T20 clash.

By Chandraboli Mitra

There was a winner and a loser at the end of the New South Wales vs Diamond Eagles match but one thing that both the captains agreed on after the game, was the tough surface they played on.

There was hardly any bounce on the wicket and players visibly did not seem to be too happy with that.

As the losing captain Boeta Dippenaar of Diamond Eagles pointed out, "The conditions were particularly tough and the bounce wasn't great at all. It was not close to what we had played during the last three practice games that we had."

To this, his counterpart from New South Wales, Simon Katich said, "After the first six overs, we knew that a total of 130-140 would be defendable. And it turned out to be just that as well. The wicket was low and slow."

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New South Wales posted 144 after opting to bat, while, Diamond Eagles could make just 91 for nine in their allotted 20 overs, losing by 53 runs.

"We knew that the pitch was going to be slow and low, but we could not anticipate it to this extent. The toss finally became very important. But ultimately, we have ourselves to be blamed for the defeat. We not only failed to adapt to the conditions but we also dropped a catch and then missed a few chances as well," said Dippenaar.

On the other hand, the New South Wales team, studded with seven international-level cricketers, brought in all their experience to handle the tough conditions.

"We are still adapting to the conditions here, but the presence of the star players like Brett Lee and Stuart Clark has certainly helped us to deal with the pressure situation better. In fact, having Lee upfront was a plus point for us," Katich said.

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Considered as one of the favourites in this Airtel Champions League Twenty20, New South Wales can surely fancy their chances after this victory over Diamond Eagles.

"It is always great to get off to a good start. However, things can also turn around very quickly in Twenty20. We can, however, take heart from the fact that we have got a few options with experience players at our disposal and some youngsters doing well too.

"I would like to think that these internationals players will make a difference in this competition and hopefully, they will lead from the front and take away pressure," concluded Katich. 

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