International Cricket Council Rates Indore Pitch, Which Hosted 3rd India-Australia Test, As ‘Poor’ | Cricket News

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has declared the pitch used for the third Test encounter between India and Australia in Indore as “poor” under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process and as a result, the Holkar Stadium has received three demerit points.  The pitch received a lot of criticism from experts due to the uneven pace and bounce on offer with 30 wickets falling in just two days. The pitch conditions specifically favoured the spins from both sides with 26 out of the 31 wickets that fell during the match going to spin bowlers. The decision was taken following a conversation between match referee Chris Broad and the two captains – India’s Rohit Sharma and Australia’s Steve Smith.

“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,” match referee Chris Broad said while discussing the pitch conditions.

According to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, any venue may face suspension if it is awarded five or more demerit points by the cricket governing body over a five-year rolling period.

Australia made a strong comeback in the series beating India by 9 wickets here at the Holkar Stadium to reduce the four-Test series deficit to 1-2. With this win, the Australians have also qualified for the World Test Championship final.

Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Travis Head walked out to bat needing 76 runs to win. Ravichandran Ashwin gave India a terrific start by dismissing Khawaja on the second ball of the day.

Then Marnus Labuschagne and Head batted sensibly. Their defensive play meant that India did not get any further wickets, and once they were set they shifted gears.

Travis Head started hitting boundaries and sixes which helped the visitors notch up the 50-run mark in 14.2 overs.

Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja failed to dislodge the batters and pacer Umesh Yadav was also introduced into the attack but even he failed to make an impact.

Labuschagne went on to hit the winning run as Australia chased down the target in 18.5 overs. Head remained unbeaten on 49 while Labuschagne was not out on 28.

(With ANI inputs)