The pitch used in the recently concluded third Test between India and Australia of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Holkar Stadium in Indore has officially been given a poor rating by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Further, under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, the venue also received three demerit points after match referee Chris Broad submitted his report.
Notably, the playing surface came under the scanner right from the beginning of the match on the opening day, with India losing seven wickets in the first session itself. A total of 30 wickets fell on the first two days of the match, with many experts and former cricketers raising their eyebrows on the pitch.
“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start. The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface, providing little or no seam movement, and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match,” said Broad in his report.
Following ICC’s decision, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed the apex body by citing the example of the GabbaTest between Australia-South Africa that ended in two days, asking how many demerit points did Brisbane received.
“One thing I would like to know, there was this Test match in November in Brisbane Gabba, where the match finished in 2 days. How many demerit points did that pitch get, and who was the match referee there,” Gavaskar said in an interaction with India Today.
At the surface, where batters from both sides struggled to score runs, Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon bagged 8 wickets in the second innings, setting up the base for Australia’s memorable win. The tourists got the target of 76 runs to win the contest which they accomplished on the third day of the match.
