Image Source: Twitter/BCCI
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday that the Nagpur and Delhi pitches in India, where the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia were played, have been given an average rating by the International Cricket Council (ICC). These playing surfaces were a topic of significant conversation prior to the highly anticipated series. The Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium pitch in Nagpur has received an "average" rating from Zimbabwean match referee Andy Pycroft and the sport's governing body.
According to the report by the Sydney Morning Herald, the pitch for the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was also given an "average" rating by the match referee, Andy Pycroft, who works for the ICC. During the second Test, Australia struggled for two days before being dismissed for 113 runs in the third innings. Despite the surface being rated as "average," it was considered to be fair, if not ideal. This implies that although the pitch may not have been perfect, it was still playable and did not provide any significant advantage to either team.
The preparation of the Nagpur pitch generated significant interest from the Australian team, with star players David Warner and Steve Smith observed closely examining the surface and pressing against it to assess its hardness before the match began. Images online also revealed "selective watering" to ensure that areas outside the off stump of left-handers were left dry for spinners.
Warner's concerns about the pitch were quite apparent during his practice sessions, where he batted right-handed and even considered doing so during the actual match. However, Indian spinners were able to take better advantage of the surface, as evidenced by the fact that both matches ended within three days, with the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dominating the Australian batters.
The Australian cricket team had a hard time dismissing Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, despite the efforts of spin veterans Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Pat Cummins, and Scott Boland. The Indian duo proved to be tough opponents for the Australians, as they managed to score a combined total of 254 runs in the series. In contrast, the seven left-handers in the Australian team, including Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Alex Carey, David Warner, Matt Kuhnemann, Matt Renshaw, and Todd Murphy, only scored a total of 242 runs.
Ben Oliver, Australia's high-performance chief, defended his team's preparation for Indian pitches, but his predecessor Pat Howard stated that an extended period of preparation is required. It is worth noting that during Australia's last visit to India in 2017, they had taken a 1-0 lead but ultimately lost the series 2-1.
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