India’s vice-captain Axar Patel said the team was left surprised by the Wankhede pitch after the match against the USA in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday. The Mumbai track is mostly a batting paradise but the curator left a tinge of green grass, which assisted the fast bowlers.

Furthermore, there was assistance for the spinners too as the ball was holding a bit in the surface. The pitch was definitely two-paced as all the batters, barring Suryakumar Yadav, found it difficult to get going.

India was left reeling at 77-6 as the hosts kept losing wickets at regular intervals and SKY’s 49-ball 84 was able to lift India’s score to 161. 

“Generally Mumbai wickets are flat, but this was different. So we changed our plan to reach 140-150. After two overs, we were surprised. Generally, it’s flat but this was different. When I went to bat, we thought keep it to 140… then 21 runs came in an over. And later Surya got more,” Axar Patel said after the match (via Indian Express).

“About those wickets that fell early that’s cricket. It’s good that this happened in the first match itself. In cricket, understanding the pitch is important. We will be better off for this experience,” he added.

On the other hand, after losing the toss, SKY said he wanted to bat first. After winning the game, SKY admitted that this track wasn’t a batting beauty.

“I have played a lot of cricket here in Mumbai, in the different maidans, so I knew that I had to bat till the end. I kind of knew that it wasn’t a batting beauty. There wasn’t enough sun that this deck received, I feel. But, we should have batter smarter,” Suryakumar Yadav said during the post-match presentation.

India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on February 12.