Though ongoing Australia vs India four-match Test series has shifted its focus to the upcoming third Test at Melbourne, starting from December 26, the Perth pitch is still becoming a serious talking point. Recently, the Indian legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has lauded the Perth track while the former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has agreed on his view.

The new Perth Stadium’s track (Optus stadium) has taken the centre stage these days. That venue organised the second Test of the series that Australia won by 146 runs and levelled the series by 1-1.

Though the batsmen and bowlers got balanced opportunities in that entire Test match, that track produced some uneven bounce too and that became dangerous for the batsmen for some time. After the end of the game, the experienced match referee Ranjan Madugalle rated that pitch as an “average”.

However, many cricket experts have praised the new Perth track as it has produced a balanced game for both the batsmen and bowlers. Australian head coach Justin Langer slammed for that low pass-marking review and claimed that the reviewer must have been watching a different game.

Later, the former English skipper Michael Vaughan and former Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson both have also criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) for that low rating. Meanwhile, the former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has defended that “average” rating decision.

Now, the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has praised the Perth track and added that the game has needed this kind of balanced track to test the ability of every cricketer.

On Sunday (December 23) morning, Tendulkar posted on his official Twitter account, “Pitches play a crucial role, especially in Test cricket. In order to revive Test cricket and generate excitement, we need to provide more pitches like the one at Perth, where the skills of batsmen and bowlers are truly TESTed. This pitch was by no means “Average”.”

Pitches play a crucial role, especially in Test cricket. In order to revive Test cricket and generate excitement, we need to provide more pitches like the one at Perth, where the skills of batsmen and bowlers are truly TESTed. This pitch was by no means “Average”.

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 23, 2018

Later, the former Aussie left-arm pacer Johnson posted, “I agree”

https://twitter.com/MitchJohnson398/status/1076751259556696064?s=20