The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday changed the rating of the Indore pitch, which hosted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match between India and Australia earlier this month, after an appeal from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The pitch was rated "poor" and handed three demerit points after the match handed ended within three days. However, following an appeal from the BCCI the rating has been changed 'below average'.
There was an avalanche of criticism after 31 wickets had fallen inside two days with the spinners picking 26 of them. And moments after Australia scripted a nine-wicket win on the third morning of the third Test, ICC Match Referee Chris Broad had issued a stern verdict on the pitch. “The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start," the report had read.
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After the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar series, BCCI appealed and ICC appeal panel consisting of Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager – Cricket, and Roger Harper, ICC Men’s Cricket Committee Member, reviewed the footage from the Test match.
Both the panelists opined 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. Hence, the rating for Indore pitch was changed from 'poor' to 'below average', which also means that it will now receive only one demerit point instead of the original three.
{{/usCountry}}Both the panelists opined 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. Hence, the rating for Indore pitch was changed from 'poor' to 'below average', which also means that it will now receive only one demerit point instead of the original three.
{{/usCountry}}Following Australia's win, they had qualified for the World Test Championship final, which will be played at The Oval in June.
The fourth match was played in Ahmedabad which had ended in a draw. India had however qualified as the second team to reach the WTC final after defending champion New Zealand beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in their home Test series.