Team India received a rude wake up call with a nine-wicket hammering at the hands of Australia in Indore earlier this week. Not only does the defeat allow the Aussies to claw their way back in the series after heavy defeats in Nagpur and Delhi, giving them hope of pulling off a series-leveling win in Ahmedabad, it also lays bare the glaring issues in the Indian team, especially in the batting department.
Additionally, the spotlight also fell on the Indore pitch that started turning square from the first hour on Day 1, getting up to 4.8 degrees of turn that is usually witnessed on the fourth and fifth days, something that skipper Rohit Sharma defended during the post-match press conference on Friday.
Not only did the Holkar wicket cop a barrage of criticism on social networking sites such as Twitter, it also was rated as ‘Poor’ by the ICC, which also gave the central Indian venue, where 14 wickets fell on the opening day followed by 16 on Day 2, three demerit points.
Former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar though, wasn’t happy with the latest development, reminding the ICC of another Test in recent memory that ended more quickly than the Indore match.
“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?
“I think 3 demerit points is a little harsh, because, in this pitch, yes the ball turned, but it was not dangerous. When Australia get to a score of 77 for the loss of one wicket it actually tells you that the pitch got a lot better,” the cricketer-turned-commentator said.
The match in question here is the first Test between Australia and South Africa in December, which ended in an Australian victory inside two days with the pitch being rated as ‘below average’ by match referee Richie Richardson, with then-Proteas skipper Dean Elgar also among those slamming the surface where 34 wickets fell inside two days.
The Gabba wicket however, received only one demerit point, compared to Indore’s three.
India and Australia are scheduled to lock horns in the final Test in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium between 9 to 13 March. There initially were reports of the Ahmedabad curators preparing a green deck to help the hosts prepare for the World Test Championship final against Australia at the Oval, plans of which must have been shelved for now after the result on Friday.
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