India vs England 2020-21: What would be the fate of Ahmedabad pitch post 3rd day-night Test?

India has produced some superb performance against England in the ongoing four-Test series for the Anthony de Mello Trophy. The third day-night Test in Ahmedabad saw the match get over within just a couple of days, drawing experts’ flak on the Ahmedabad pitch quality.

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Motera, First Published Feb 26, 2021, 12:34 PM IST | Last Updated Feb 26, 2021, 12:34 PM IST

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It was Team India all along against England in the third day-night Test for the Anthony de Mello Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. All it took was a couple of days to settle the dust and scrap a result out of the game, as the host won by ten wickets.

(Image courtesy: BCCI)

Although the Indian fans were delighted, true cricketing fans and experts did not take the game’s result on a good note, citing that the venue’s pitch quality produces a lousy example for Test cricket. Also, there are reports that the International Cricket Council could take up the matter.

(Image courtesy: BCCI)

As all wonder what could be the fate of the Ahmedabad pitch post a two-day lousiness, many also question if the pitch would be rated ‘poor’ by the ICC. However, what does the ICC law actually states? We find out....

(Image courtesy: BCCI)

As per the ICC website, in the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, a ‘poor’ pitch can be defined as “one that does not allow an even contest between bat and ball, either by favouring the batters too much, and not giving the bowlers (seam and spin) from either team sufficient opportunity to take wickets, or by favouring the bowlers too much (seam or spin), and not giving the batters from either team the opportunity to make runs.”

“It is acceptable for a pitch to offer some degree of turn on the first day of a match, particularly in the sub-continent, though anything more than occasional unevenness of bounce at this stage of the match is not acceptable. It is to be expected that a pitch will turn steadily more as a match progresses, and it is recognised that a greater degree of unevenness of bounce may develop,” it added.

Now, going by the law above, Ahmedabad could well be in trouble. In just three innings, 28 wickets were claimed by the spinners, while the Indians used only three bowlers in the second innings, as all of them happened to be spinners who cleaned out the visitor.

(Image courtesy: BCCI)

The pitch offered so much assistance to the spinner that part-timer Joe Root claimed the most economical five-for in a Test in India (5/8). Also, in two consecutive Tests, the Indian spinners have managed to get a wicket off the first ball of the innings.

Nonetheless, it is also to be noted that ‘poor’ pitch is a rare verdict given by the ICC. The only instance of such involving India happened in 2018, when a Test at The Wanderers, Johannesburg, in South Africa, was halted on Day 3 for being “excessively steep and unpredictable bounce‚ and excessive seam movement”. It as on Day 4 that India wrapped up the win.