T20 World Cup 2024 – Rohit Sharma retires hurt in India’s opening game against Ireland

“I have got to say that is not a good surface to play an international match on. It’s bordering on dangerous,” Flower said on ESPNcricinfo’s Timeout show. “You saw the ball bouncing from a length, both ways. So skidding low occasionally but in the main bouncing unusually high and striking people on the thumb, on the gloves, on the helmet and making life very very difficult for any batsman.

“The Indian quicks were good enough to exploit it [the conditions], you’ve got to get that to them,” Flower said. “They kept their game plan really simple, they hit the deck hard on a good length and that was all you needed to do. And it proved to be very tricky batting conditions for any side let alone a smaller cricketing nation like Ireland taking on the giants of India.”

“You have seen dangerous pitches before as well at the international level but something has gone wrong with the preparation where either the pitch has been under-prepared or something that is beyond their control,” Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo’s Timeout show. “This seems more like something beyond their control, where they have put in a lot of work in trying to get the right surface in the Big Apple and all that. But I said couple of days back as well, what can they do to make this pitch better? I am sure it is not lack of effort. At the most what you can do is keep rolling that drop-in pitch but they have a problem in hand. Inherently, I think there is something wrong with the base of that surface.”

“Maybe it is a case of, I mean it is a very strong statement, where it seems like the horse has been put before the cart,” Manjrekar said. “You know this excitement of having cricket in New York. I think Florida has been pretty okay over the years. But cricket in New York…but unfortunately, what is the most important thing isn’t quite living up to the hype, which is the pitch and the general conditions, which is unfortunate.”