The Chinnaswamy pitch in Bengaluru that was made by BCCI to host Sri Lanka for the second Test was rated by the ICC as ‘below average’.
The Chinnaswamy pitch in Bengaluru that was made by BCCI to host Sri Lanka for the second Test was rated by the ICC as ‘below average’. Javagal Srinath, one of the senior Match Referee in the ICC’s Elite Panel, rated it as such and the venue has received on demerit point for the performance.
“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 wrote in his report on the pitch.
Srinath report has been forwarded to the BCCI panel. In 2017, a similar case happened when the Bengaluru wicket was rated as below average by the ICC Match Referee Chris Broad after the second Test.
As per the report from Srinath, there was a decent amount of turn on the surface from Day 1, which took India to 148/6 and it was Shreyas Iyer’s skills that took India across 252 – an innings in which India lost 8 of their 10 wickets to the spinners.
According to the revised ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, which was introduced on January 4, 2018,
“if a pitch or outfield is rated as being substandard, that venue will be allocated a number of demerit points.”
“One demerit point will be awarded to venues whose pitches are rated by the match referees as below average, while three and five demerit points will be awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as poor and unfit, respectively.
“No demerit point will be awarded when the outfield is rated as below average, but two and five demerit points will be awarded to venues whose outfields are marked as poor and unfit, respectively.”
In response to the Indian batting, Sri Lankan’s were bundled out for only 109, three wickets in that innings was picked up by the spinners. Indian batting-order played a fine knock in the second innings but Sri Lankan batters faced almost a similar fate in their second innings.
Seven out ten Sri Lankan batters got dismissed on the single-digit figures and the session for the visitors only lasted till the final session of Day 3.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, who was named as player of the match for twin half-centuries also felt that the pitch was not great during a press conference.
“You saw the players who defended the ball, there was a lot of chance of nicking, and there was variable bounce on that wicket,”
Iyer said after the opening day.
“You can’t just play very negatively on that wicket and just keep defending the ball. You’ve got to have that positive intent when you step out on the field. The wicket is not that great. It’s obviously bowler-friendly.”
