The third Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy was not a great one for India as the latter not just suffered a 9-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia, but also missed a chance to confirm their berth for World Test Champions final.
While Indian players' performance was not up to the mark and the team ended up producing a poor show in a must-win game, the Indore surface too disappointed everyone by receiving "poor" rating from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
In his report, Match Referee Chris Broad claimed that the surface did not provide balance to the bowlers and batters and was too dry, favouring spinners. “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,” ICC said in its statement.
In a fresh development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to challenge ICC’s decision to rate the pitch poor. A report published in The Indian Express stated that BCCI officials are brainstorming over the same and will decide something very soon. “We will take stock of the situation and decide,” a BCCI official said.
According to ICC rules, BCCI has 14 days to appeal against the sanction. A venue can get suspended from staging international matches for a period of 12 months if it amassed five or more demerit points over a five-year rolling period.
Three demerit points too hard: Gavaskar
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, earlier, said that slapping three demerit points to the Indore pitch was ‘too harsh.’
“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?” he questioned.
“I think 3 demerit points is a little harsh, because, in this pitch, yes the ball turned, but it was not dangerous. When Australia gets to a score of 77 for the loss of one wicket it actually tells you that the pitch got a lot better,” he said at India Today.
