Lucknow pitch curator sacked for preparing a 'shocker'
New Delhi (PTI): The curator of the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow has been removed from his job after preparing a "shocker of a pitch" for the second T20I against New Zealand.
Though India won the game on Sunday with a ball to spare, skipper Hardik Pandya did not mince his words, calling the Lucknow wicket a "shocker".
New Zealand were restricted to 99 for eight and India had a hard time chasing the small target on a turning track.
"The curator has been removed and replaced by Sanjeev Kumar Agarwal who is a very experienced curator. We will turn things around in a month.
"A lot of domestic cricket was already played on all the centre wickets ahead of the T20I and the curator should have left one or two strips for an international game. The surface was overused and due to the bad weather, there was not enough (time) to prepare a fresh wicket," a UPCA source told PTI.
Agarwal, who has prepared pitches in Bangladesh in the past before being removed in October last year, has been tasked to set things right as far as pitch-making is concerned. He will work closely with veteran BCCI curator Taposh Chatterjee, said the source.
The T20I series decider will be played in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Hardik has not been happy with the surfaces on offer so far in the series.
"To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played on so far. I don't mind difficult wickets. I am all up for that, but these two wickets are not made for T20. Somewhere down the line, the curators or the grounds that we are going to play in should make sure they prepare the pitches earlier," Hardik had said after the six-wicket win in Lucknow.
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Mangaluru: Iqra Arabic School secures 100% results in SSLC examination
Mangaluru: Iqra Arabic School Mangalore recorded 100% results in the SSLC examination results announced on Thursday in Karnataka.
A total of 20 students appeared for the SSLC examination from the school of which, two students secured distinction while 13 students managed to secure first class result.
Hafiz Shadin Ahmed s/o Mohammed Shahid topped in the school with 87.36% while Hafiza Zainab Khalifa d/o Dawood Ahmed Khalifa bagged the second spot with 86.72% results.
Bibi Maryam d/o Aslam Bhalli and Safiya Zunab d/o GM Shareef secured the third and fourth spot with 81.60% and 81.28% respectively.
The management of the school and teachers congratulated the students on their success and performance in the SSLC exams.
