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ICC announces verdict on Bengaluru pitch for India vs Sri Lanka Test that ended in three days
The pitch received a below-average rating in the report submitted by the match referee for the game, Javagal Srinath.
International Cricket Council (ICC) has given its verdict on the pitch used for the second and final Test between India and Sri Lanka, which saw 16 wickets falling on the opening day and the islanders getting thrashed inside three days in Bengaluru.
The pitch received a below-average rating in the report submitted by the match referee for the game, Javagal Srinath. As a result, the venue will receive one demerit under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
“The pitch offered a lot of turn on the first day itself and though it improved with every session, in my view, it was not an even contest between bat and ball," Srinath said in the report.
According to the revised ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, venues whose pitches are rated below average by match referees receive one demerit point, while three and five demerit points are awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as poor and unfit respectively.
Chasing 447 for victory, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 208 on Day 3 after Dimuth Karunaratne put up a valiant 107 on a surface that turned from day one. India had also won the opening Test inside three days in Mohali and a win in the pink-ball game helped them record a 2-0 whitewash and jump to No. 4 position in the World Test Championship (WTC) table.
“Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period and if it accumulates five demerit points or more, it is suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months,” said the ICC in its release.
Earlier, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, who scored 67 and 50 in India's 303 for nine in the second innings, helped the hosts set a daunting total for Sri Lanka to chase. But the first day of the game was dominated by bowlers, who picked 16 wickets in total with spinners plucking nine of them. At the end of Day 1, Sri Lanka were 86 for six after bowling India out for 252.
