The pitch for third Test match between India and Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been rated as poor by the International Cricket Council on Friday. The match was played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore and it was finished within three days. The pitch faced a lot of scrutiny as the spinners got assistance from the first session itself and it became difficult for the batters to score runs.
ICC Match Referee Chris Broad submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials and after consulting with the captains of both teams. Following the assessment, the venue has received three demerit points.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India now has 14 days if they wish to appeal against the sanction.
“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,” Broad said.
Meanwhile, no demerit point will be awarded when the outfield is rated as below average, but two and five demerit points will be awarded to venues whose outfields are marked as poor and unfit, respectively. While the demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period.
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In the third Test, India were all out for 109 and 163 in their two innings while Australia managed 197 in their first essay before knocking off the required 76 runs for a win on the third morning.
Speaking to media shortly after India’s nine-wicket thrashing at the hands of Australia on a pitch that turned square from the first hour, Rohit strongly indicated that another turner awaits both teams in the final Test in Ahmedabad from March 9.
“Before every series we usually decide what kind of pitches we would like to play on. It was our call to play on pitches like these. I don’t think we are putting pressure on the batters. When we win all seems well. We are not asked about our batting,” he said.
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