Published: Mar 04, 2023, 08:17 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 04, 2023, 08:17 AM (IST)
Indore: Rohit Sharma’s Team India suffered a 9-wicket loss against Steve Smith-led Australia in the third test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The Indore test match ended in less than three days and following that ICC gave demerit points to the Indore pitch and rated it poor. Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar didn’t like the apex cricketing body’s decision and lashed at them over it.
“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 during a conversation with India Today.
After consulting with the captains of both teams, ICC Match Referee Chris Broad presented his report to the ICC, expressing the concerns of the match officials. The location has been awarded three demerit points as a result of the evaluation. The BCCI has received the report, and they now have 14 days to appeal the sanction.
“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,” said Chris Broad in an ICC media release.
Venues with pitches rated below average by match officials receive one demerit point, while venues with pitches rated poor or unfit receive three and five points, respectively. A venue will be banned from hosting international cricket for a year if it earns five demerit points or exceeds that threshold. When a venue reaches the threshold of ten demerit points, it cannot host any international cricket for a period of 24 months.
