ICC rates BCCI chief’s home pitch at Nagpur as “poor”

This is one debate that refuses to settle down.

The media release read: “In accordance with Clause 3 of the Process, ICC Match Referee Jeff Crowe submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials over the performance of the pitch”. The report has also been sent to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who have 14 days to respond. India had won the first Test at Mohali while the second Test in Bengaluru was washed out due to heavy rain.

The pitches have come under scrutiny so far in the series with the Nagpur track being investigated by the International Cricket Council after being rated as “poor”.

After the end of the match, Amla, at the media conference, had said: “The surface was probably the toughest that I have had and the cricket itself was really hard”.

South Africa’s thinking cap has been on ever since they were bowled out for 184 in Mohali. It is hardly cold here, the forecast is clear and unless the Delhi pollution plays up we shouldn’t lose any time to the elements. We haven’t experienced this type of challenge before. Both of them added 72 runs in around 48 overs before Mishra bagged their wickets in two of his successive overs.

South Africa’s Faf du Plessis quipped in return that he’s “sure they wouldn’t be complaining if they were winning” and so, here we are. But India are likely to be unchanged while South Africa were still undecided about key paceman Dale Steyn who has been nursing a groin strain.

When asked what he thought about the pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Dehli, Kohli urged reporters to focus on matters of bat and ball rather than the 22 yards in the centre of the stadium.

The visitors were naturally eager to have a look at the pitch to be used for the final test starting on Thursday and assistant coach Adrian Birell was hopeful it would last longer. “We have had a look at the pitch”. However, India captain Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri had strongly defended the pitch, saying that there was nothing wrong with the track.

Coming to the Ranji Trophy, two matches were over in two days, including what is supposed to be a Group A game between Bengal and Odisha. We are happy with what we saw. The subjectivity though, puts this approach of preparing pitches to opposition’s weakness on a thin-line separating tracks leading to result-driven matches and putting a venue’s repute at stake in case it goes too far like Nagpur and Trent Bridge, earlier in the year. “It is a special opportunity for me to captain the Indian side at my home ground”, Kohli said. I would hope the one in Delhi is absolutely the same. “I have no qualms about it”. Given the manner in which senior members of the team management are strongly advocating for pitches which offer turn and bounce from the 1 day itself is appearing to be a policy thought rather than an aberration, something which can be done without for consistent success on home soil. Where does it tell me in the rule book it can only swing and seam? “It is about skill for batsmen to play it and counter it”.