How hosts ‘lost the spirit of Test cricket’ in bid for WTC glory

Australia fought back admirably from their second Test capitulation in Delhi to comprehensively defeat India by nine wickets in the third Test on Friday.

And while the rebound performance won’t change the fact the Aussies will fail to capture the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth consecutive series, it did ensure their qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval in London in June right before the Ashes kicks off.

With India leading the series 2-1 ahead of the final Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday, Australia still have the chance to draw the series, which would be their best performance against India on their home turf since 2004-05 when Australia last won a Test series there.

As always, the turning wickets have been a huge feature on the subcontinent, but things seemed to go too far in Indore, even by Indian standards, with the pitch a raging turner almost from the get-go.

It led to the third consecutive match of the series to be decided within three days, and the pitch drew a poor rating from the ICC, as well as scathing criticism from Indian spinning great Harbhajan Singh, who said the pitches India have been preparing were making it far too easy for bowlers to grab wickets.

“As a batter, it is very difficult to survive even if you have a good defence. You might be (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Jacques) Kallis, Brian Lara or Virat Kohli, even an unknown bowler will dismiss you on this pitch if you play six balls continuously,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.

“Your batters were not working hard but labouring on this pitch because you didn’t know at all where the ball was going.

“I want your bowlers also to do some hard work because are they capable of winning you the match while defending 250 runs on the fourth or fifth day when there is slight help from the pitch?

“Nathan Lyon picked up eight wickets. He is an extremely skilled bowler. R Ashwin is a great bowler but I am troubled when bowlers like Joe Root come and pick up five wickets in five overs (as he did in Ahmedabad two years ago).

“Test wickets are being given to anyone. Your skill should give you the wickets and your skill should score runs.”

Former India selector Saba Karim was bemused by the state of the pitch, too.

“Australia have Steve Smith and India have Virat Kohli, arguably the top two batters in world cricket. But we haven’t gotten to see their batting in this series. What are we trying to prove by making such wickets,” he told India News.

“In our desperation to qualify for the WTC final, we have lost the spirit of Test cricket. We have No. 1 and No. 2 teams competing here. It would have been a joy to watch them play if the contest was between all aspects of Test cricket.”

However, the Indore pitch, which was slapped with three demerit points by the ICC, found support in the form of Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.

“One thing I would like to know, there was this Test match in November in Brisbane (at the) Gabba, where the match finished in two days. How many demerit points did that pitch get and who was the match referee there,” Gavaskar told India Today.

Richie Richardson was the match referee of the Gabba Test, which Australia won by six wickets against South Africa, while Chris Broad oversaw the Indore contest.

Pitch dramas aside, there were no shortage of crucial moments during the third Test, and Gavaskar nominated Ravindra Jadeja’s no-ball, when he seemingly dismissed Marnus Labuschagne for a duck in the first innings, as the sliding doors moment of the match.

Labuschagne would go on to make 31 and combined with Usman Khawaja (60) for a critical 96-run partnership which helped the tourists make 197 and build a critical 78-run lead heading into the second dig.

“If you look back on the Test match, you would say that is probably what cost India the match,” Gavaskar said.