India legend Sunil Gavaskar was incensed with the ICC for penalizing the Indore pitch and awarding it three demerit points. The former Indian captain expressed his outrage at the decision and reminded the governing body of the Test match between Australia and South Africa that concluded in a mere two days.
Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar queried the International Cricket Council (ICC) about the number of demerit points it had assigned to the Gabba pitch following the Australia-South Africa fixture, which ended in a mere two days.
“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.
The third Test match between India and Australia concluded in the opening session of day three. The pitch was conducive to spin bowling from the outset, and India were bowled out for a meager 109 in the first innings. Australia’s batsmen then compiled a total of 197, giving them a lead of 88 runs.
The pitch was challenging to bat on, but Australia managed to find a way to counter the spinners and demonstrated that it was not impossible to face slow bowlers on the Indore track. Despite the difficult conditions, they persevered and ultimately emerged victorious.
“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,” referee Chris Broad wrote in his report.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has two weeks to challenge the decision of the Broad. If the Indore pitch receives two more demerit points within the next five years, it will be prohibited from hosting any international fixtures for a period of one year.
The fourth and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test Series between India and Australia will be held in Ahmedabad. India has so far dominated the series, having won the first two matches, while Australia managed to secure a victory in the third. The fourth Test match will take place from March 9th to 13th at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
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