In reply to the appeal made by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ICC ran through the footages again before changing their verdict in the Indore pitch, which had hosted the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia earlier this month. The verdict has now been changed from ‘poor’ to ‘below average’, while the three demerit points handed has now been reduced to just one. Following the big news on Monday, an Australian media website called the act “ridiculous” which left Indian fans irked while a former Australia coach gave a brutal reaction.
After the match that lasted only seven sessions, where 30 wickets fell on the first two days, leaving veterans and cricket experts slamming Indian cricket and the pitch, ICC Match Referee Chris Broad's assessment of the Indore pitch read: “The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start."
After the Test series, BCCI made an appeal on the Indore track. ICC appeal panel consisting of Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager – Cricket, and Roger Harper, ICC Men’s Cricket Committee Member, went through the footage again to conclude that while the Match Referee followed the guidelines in accordance with Appendix A of the Pitch Monitoring Process, there was not enough excessive variable bounce to warrant the 'poor' rating.
Fox Cricket of Australia tweeted their news article on ICC's changed verdict with the summary: "India dished up a truly terrible pitch for the third Test against Australia, but they've managed to get the pitch rating upgraded from 'poor' after an appeal!" And their headline read: “ICC's ridiculous backdown on pitch rating after Aus-India Test debacle.”
{{/usCountry}}Fox Cricket of Australia tweeted their news article on ICC's changed verdict with the summary: "India dished up a truly terrible pitch for the third Test against Australia, but they've managed to get the pitch rating upgraded from 'poor' after an appeal!" And their headline read: “ICC's ridiculous backdown on pitch rating after Aus-India Test debacle.”
{{/usCountry}}In reaction to the tweet, former Australia head coach Darren Lehman had a brutal take. There were no words written but just three laughing emoticons.
Meanwhile, Indian fans were left livid at Fox Cricket's tweet on the big news, most of whom reminded them of the eventual result of the BGT series.
Although it was Australia who won the Indore Test which guaranteed their qualification for WTC final, the series ended in favour of India after the final match was drawn. India too made it to their second straight WTC final after defending champions New Zealand whitewashed Sri Lanka at home in their two-match series