All the talk about the pitch conditions at the Holkar Stadium in Indore for the third Test between India and Australia turned out to be true as ICC rated it “poor” after reports from the match referee in consultation with the captains of both the teams Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith. The announcement came hours after the Test match ended in less than 7 sessions with the visitors registering a comfortable 9-wicket win.

Spinners from both teams enjoyed great help from the surface that offered started turning square from Day 1, which saw 14 wickets fall. Out of the 31 wickets that fell during the whole match, the spinner accounted for 26 of them. The Holkar Stadium has received three demerit points as a result after ICC match referee Chris Broad submitted his report. BCCI now have 14 days if they wish to appeal against the sanction.

Batters of both teams found it difficult to bat long on the surface. India’s first innings folded for 109 after lasting just 33.2 overs. Australia got bundled out for 197, losing six wickets for 11 runs on Day 2. India’s second innings wasn’t any better. They were bundled out for 163 with only Cheteshwar Pujara managing to score a half-century. 

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Speaking on the pitch, Chris Broad said: “The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favoring spinners from the start. 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.”

According to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, a venue can receive a suspension from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months if it accumulates five or more demerit points over a five-year rolling period. India’s captain Rohit Sharma, however, was not happy with all the talk surrounding the pitch.

As per the quotes in Hindustan Times, Rohit Sharma said, “As the host country, we have the right to decide what we have to do and what kind of pitches we want to play on. This was a collective call of the whole team. So I don’t think we are putting any pressure on our batters (to adapt to playing on slow, turning tracks). When we win, everything’s fine. It is only when we lose that these things get talked about.”

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He further added, “We decided to play on such pitches, knowing the challenges we were facing and were ready for them. Players have to play well for the game to last all five days. Games finish early even outside India. Yesterday, in South Africa, the Test (against West Indies) finished in three days. It isn’t about playing on flat decks and finishing at honors even. In Pakistan, three Tests were played over five days but were called boring.”