IND vs AUS: Indore pitch receives further criticism from Sunil Gavaskar following ICC hammering
Indore-like pitch in Ahmedabad could çost India, feels worried Gavaskar
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the Indore pitch for failing to provide a fair contest between bat and ball. After the ICC on Friday rated the surface used for the third Test between India and Australia as poor for the similar reasons mentioned above, Gavaskar tore into the thought process behind asking for such pitches for a Test match.
Following an embarrassing defeat on day three of the third Test, Indian captain Rohit Sharma defended the pitch that was turning square in the first session of day one saying they only asked the curators to make sure turners, and that India should have applied themselves better on those tracks instead of complaining about it.
On the flip side of this whole discussion on the pitches that are used so far in this marquee series, Gavaskar said like how it happened in the past during the famous England series in 2012, India could fall prey to its own trap if they continue to go ahead with a similar kind of pitch in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
ALSO READ:IND vs AUS: ICC rates Indore pitch 'poor' after third Test ends inside three days at Holkar Stadium
"I think there has to be a little more thought on that. This pitch has backfired in 2012-13 when Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar spun England to a win. I don’t think it’s a great idea to have pitches of this quality," Gavaskar told India Today after the end of the third Test in Indore.
Gavaskar, who was the first Indian batter to complete 10,000 Tests runs having faced some of the greatest bowlers the game has seen, suggested that the ideal surface for a Test match must be good for batting and bowling on the first two days, and then from day three onwards it should be assisting the spinners – not like how it was here in Indore where it was turning square from the ball one.
Further expressing his concerns on what kind of pitch will be on offer in the final Test that begins on March 9th, Gavaskar said,
"You want to have pitches where there is a good balance between bat and ball. You want to have a pitch where for the first couple of days, the new-ball bowlers can get some help and the batters can play through the line and score runs. And then from Day 3 and 4, the ball is going to turn a little bit. I don’t know what’s going to happen in Ahmedabad. If the pitch in Ahmedabad is a raging turner, then India might go on to win but once again the pitch might get demerit points," Sunil Gavaskar added.
The series currently stands at 2-1 in favour of India.
