ODI World Cup final pitch receives ‘Average’ rating from ICC. The same was said of the second semi-final at Eden Gardens.
The surface utilized between India and Australia in the ODI World Cup finale at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad received a ‘Average’ grade from the ICC. The governing council made the similar criticism about the second semi-final. Which contest at Eden Gardens between Australia and South Africa.
Notably, Andy Pycroft, the match referee, gave the pitch rating for the final. While Javagal Srinath oversaw the second semi-final in Kolkata. According to sources, India captain Rohit Sharma and several of his support staff have already contacted with the BCCI about the quality of the pitch on which the final was played.
Batting first on the slow and sluggish pitch. The Men in Blue could only muster 240 runs, which insufficient to complete the task. The likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who had been in superb form building up to the final, fail to get going as the Australian spinners dominate the home team.
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Batting under lights was considerably simpler since the ball was coming to the bat well
Despite this, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were merciless in the middle as the visitors were 47/3 at one stage. However, Travis Head’s brilliance in Ahmedabad helped Australia win their sixth ODI World Cup. Marnus Labushchagne provided solid assistance with a tenacious half-century, while Glenn Maxwell scored the winning runs.
Surprisingly, there was a lot of discussion about the pitch both before and after the game. The Australian media reported that the surface was tailor-made for the Indians to prevail ahead of the final, while former skipper Ricky Ponting claimed that India’s intention to play on a slow surface ‘backfired’.
Overall, five of India’s eleven matches in the tournament were play on ‘average’ pitches. Their first game against Australia is one of them, along with the ones against Pakistan in Ahmedabad, England in Lucknow, South Africa in Kolkata, and the one used in the final.
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