International Cricket Council match referee Chris Broad has given the pitch used for India’s opening Test against Australia in Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Stadium a ‘poor’ rating.

“The report has been forwarded to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which now has 14 days to provide its response,” said an ICC release.

Broad, in accordance with Clause 3 of the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, submitted his report to the ICC in which he expressed concern over the quality of the pitch.

The report has been forwarded to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which now has 14 days to provide its response.

The BCCI’s response will be reviewed by ICC’s General Manager - Cricket, Geoff Allardice, and Ranjan Madugalle from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. The matter will be decided in accordance with Clause 4 of the process.

India lost the Test by 333 runs. Batsmen from both teams had struggled on the wicket that assisted spin from day one of the Test. India were bowled out for 105 runs in the first innings after losing seven wickets in the span of 11 runs.

They did not fare any better in the second essay, getting skittled out for 107. Australia’s left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe was the pick of the bowlers, bagging 12 wickets in his maiden Test on Indian soil.

In December 2015, the Nagpur pitch used during the third Test between India and South Africa was also issued a “poor” rating by match referee, Jeff Crowe, in his report.

South Africa, in their first innings, had slumped to 12/5, getting bowled out for 79. As many as thirty-three wickets of the 40 wickets that fell were scalped by spinners. No batsman scored a half-century during the Test, a first in India.

According to ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process issued in 2010, a pitch is said to be poor if:

  • The pitch offers excessive seam movement at any stage of the match.
  • The pitch displays excessive unevenness of bounce for any bowler at any stage of the match.
  • The pitch offers excessive assistance to spin bowlers, especially early in the match.
  • The pitch displays little or no seam movement or turn at any stage in the match together with no significant bounce or carry, thereby depriving the bowlers of a fair contest between bat and ball.