The International Cricket Council has finally passed a verdict on the Indore pitch, rating it as poor. ICC has also given the pitch at the Holkar Stadium three demerit points. If the pitch there receives 2 more demerit points over the next 5 years, ICC will forbid any international cricket from happening there for a period of 12 months.
The third test match between India and Australia ended in just 2 days and 1 session, with none of the two teams getting past the 200-run mark. The pitch had an immense amount of spin from the very first ball itself, and as the game progressed, it became nearly impossible to bat on.
Thus, when the match ended in just seven sessions, it was inevitable that ICC would take strict action against it. Match Referee Chris Broad consulted with Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma and Australia’s stand-in Captain Steve Smith and submitted his report to the global cricket governing body.
Speaking about the pitch, Chris said, “The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favoring spinners from the start.” He further went on to add, “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.”
The Indore pitch saw the fall of 14 wickets in the first day, with India being bowled out for a mere 109 runs in just 33.2 overs. However, the Aussie top order looked rather comfortable on the pitch as compared to the Indian team. Nonetheless, both of the teams couldn’t get past the 200-run mark. This sparked a lot of controversy and criticism concerning the pitch.
The Indian Captain Rohit Sharma didn’t seem really happy with the comments. In the post-match conference, he broke his silence and finally spoke on the pitch. “As the host country, we have the right to decide what we have to do and what kind of pitches we want to play on. This was a collective call of the whole team. So I don’t think we are putting any pressure on our batters (to adapt to playing on slow, turning tracks). When we win, everything’s fine. It is only when we lose that these things get talked about.”, added the Indian skipper.
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