Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer has admitted that his team is finding it difficult to adjust to the distinctive playing conditions at Ekana Stadium. After their unsuccessful chase of 160 against the Rajasthan Royals, Langer likened the surface to Perth’s renowned WACA Ground, where pace and bounce are usually central to how the game unfolds.
While Langer called the wicket “brilliant,” he said Lucknow’s batters have not been able to cope with the added pace and sharp rise off the pitch. He noted that Ekana has been a consistent challenge for the franchise, with Lucknow losing all three home matches this season and collecting only six wins from 17 outings at the venue since 2024. Speaking following the loss on April 22, he stressed that the pitch behaves differently from the majority of tracks seen across India.
“I think the pitch here is very different than in most of India. It’s a brilliant cricket pitch. You see pace and bounce, and we just haven’t quite adjusted to it. I thought we started off with bowling quite well in it. We bowled well in the first game, but we’re just not adjusting to the extra pace and bounce. We’ve seen a number of times that batters are getting caught to the short ball,” Langer said after the match.
He added that the ball’s behaviour on this ground resembles conditions that are less common in Indian venues. “So we’re not adjusting. We see a lot of wickets in India where the ball doesn’t bounce very high. This is like playing at the WACA (Perth). There’s real pace and bounce, isn’t there?” Langer remarked.
In the chase of 160, Lucknow struggled early and slid to 11/3 inside three overs. Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger made the most of the conditions, applying pressure with movement and length. Rishabh Pant was dismissed after edging behind while attempting an aggressive shot, and Aiden Markram fell to a quick, short-ball delivery, underlining how uncomfortable Lucknow were against the bounce on offer.
Langer pointed to that lack of familiarity as the main obstacle. “We see a lot of wickets in India where the ball doesn’t bounce much. This is like playing at the WACA, there’s real pace and bounce. We just haven’t been able to adapt,” he said.
Despite the defeat and the batting concerns, the coach gave credit to his bowling group. He singled out Mohsin Khan and Prince Yadav, describing them as future India prospects and insisting he has “no doubt” both will go on to represent the national team.
“Last year our numbers were incredible and we were ruing the fact that a lot of our bowlers were injured or coming back from injury or not quite fit. This year our bowlers have been a real credit. I think Mohsin Khan, again outstanding. Prince Yadav, I think they’re both two players who will play for India. No question in my mind they’ll both play for India,” Langer said.
He concluded by defending the quality of the wicket while acknowledging Lucknow have not yet been able to find the right side of it. “It’s a great cricket wicket. Every game here is exciting, we’ve just been on the wrong side of it so far,” Langer added.
