ICC hands down blunt verdict on ‘poor’ Indore pitch after Australia’s win over India

The Indore pitch used for the third Test between India and Australia has been marked as “poor” and handed three demerit points.

The International Cricket Council confirmed the news hours after Australia’s nine-wicket win over India.

The match, which was dominated from the start by spin bowling, ended midway through the opening session on day three.

“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start,” match referee Chris Broad wrote in his report.

“The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) have 14 days in which to appeal against the sanction.

If a venue accumulates five or more demerit points, it is suspended for 12 months from hosting any international cricket.

Indore was only given two weeks to prepare for the Test after it was switched from Dharamsala where the relaid outfield was still not ready for Test cricket.

Australian great Mark Waugh was particularly critical of the pitch on the first day of play, saying it was “not up to Test standard”.

“The ball going through the top within the first 20 minutes of the Test match. That’s not good enough,” Waugh said on Fox Cricket.

Former teammate Matthew Hayden was even more scathing, telling the host broadcaster: “This is why I’ve got a problem with these conditions. There’s no way in the world that a spin bowler should come on in the sixth over.

“You’ve got to give batters a chance … Day one, day two should be about batting.

“Forget the result, don’t worry about if Australia win or lose or India win or lose, it shouldn’t be like that in Test match cricket.”