“Joke of Test cricket”: India legend’s scathing comment on Indore pitch

The nature of the 22-yard strip wicket at the Holkar Stadium, where deliveries square off as soon as they start, has reignited the debate on reducing the surfaces prepared by India for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy games against Australia. Have given. ICC match referee Chris Broad is almost certain to take cognizance of the diabolical nature of the track and it won’t be surprising if after Nagpur and Delhi, which were rated “Average”, the track in the ongoing Test match is rated “Below Average”. Ratings can be found. , India were all out for 109 in just one session, while Australia managed to post 156 for 4 as 14 wickets fell by the end of the day’s play.

All teams like their home conditions of their choice but what should be the extent of that home advantage? Another test is set to be completed within three days. Is it good for sports? And did the curators get enough time to prepare the ground with the announcement of the Games being shifted from Dharamshala only two weeks earlier? Could the BCCI have managed the last-minute venue change better? These are some of the complicated questions that need to be answered.

All the Test matches in the series have attracted healthy audiences so far, but if the standard of the pitches are not addressed, will fans continue to throng the venues? Matthew Kuhnman got the ball moving miles by stumping India skipper Rohit Sharma in the sixth over of the game.

The degree of twist was 8.3 on the mass scale. Nathan Lyon gets one to dart back outside off stump and that too keeping the ball low. Ut left Cheteshwar Pujara puzzled. It became 6.8 degrees.

Both Rohit and Pujara could have used some discretion in their shot selection but getting the ball rolling in the first hour left a lot to be desired. Should the ball have taken a turn so early in the game? Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar believes that the practice of ending three-day matches in India makes a mockery of Test cricket.

“If you want to watch good cricket, the pitch makes all the difference. You have to have wickets with equal bounce so that both batsmen and bowlers get equal opportunities. If the ball takes turn from the first day and the first session itself and that too unevenly With bounce, it makes a mockery of Test cricket.

“It is important for Test cricket to bring back spectators. You see that in England and Australia but unfortunately that is not happening in India. People will come back to Test cricket only when it is interesting. Any bowlers can dominate batsmen. don’t want to see.” First session itself, “One of the finest batsmen of spin bowling India has produced.

Australian great Matthew Hayden was critical of the pitch at Indore and felt sorry for the fans of Test cricket.

“No way spinners should be bowling in the sixth over. That’s why I don’t like this kind of surface. It shouldn’t be so low and turn so much on day one. It doesn’t matter if Australia is Or not.” Win this test or India. Such surfaces are not good for Test cricket.”

The pitch behaved as it could have because it was heavily used and the curators didn’t get enough time to prepare as the announcement was made at the 11th hour after Himachal Pradesh CA failed to prepare their ground. The ground had been hosting domestic cricket since September and had played an ODI only last month.

Vengsarkar said, “It could also be the reason that the bounce is uneven. He didn’t get much time to water and hold the wicket.” A pitch expert, who did not wish to be named, said that it takes at least a month to prepare a good wicket for a Test match. Square houses pitch with both red and black clay but the game is played with the latter.

It is believed that the black soil helps in turning more and also retains moisture which also helps in dispersion of air.

He said, “It takes at least a month to prepare a Test wicket. Pitches also need rest. So there was not even two weeks between the Ranji Trophy semi-final and this match.” One ODI was played against. last month. It seems to have contributed to how the pitch is behaving,” said an expert in the know of things.

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