The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the surface at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the 2023 World Cup final between India and Australia a ‘acceptable’ rating.
Australia won the toss and chose to bat first on the sluggish pitch. During the middle overs, the Men in Blue struggled to score runs at a rapid pace and were eventually bowled out for 240. Pat Cummins and his team were crowned champions after successfully chasing down the goal with six wickets in hand.
Several spectators turned to social media to express their displeasure with the ICC’s grading of the Ahmedabad surface. Here are some of the most common responses:
The ICC’s top council has rated five out of 11 games involving India as average. The second world cup semi-final game between Australia and South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata earned the same score.
India played several group-stage games against countries like Australia in Chennai, Pakistan in Ahmedabad, South Africa in Kolkata, and England in Lucknow. The International Cricket Council (ICC) gave these fields an average score. The cricket pitches were just okay.
Rahul Dravid unhappy with ICC’s pitch ratings for Ahmedabad and Chennai World Cup pitches
The pitches used for India’s group-stage matches against Australia and Pakistan in Chennai and Ahmedabad, respectively, were rated as ordinary by the ICC, which infuriated head coach Rahul Dravid.
In Chennai, Australia was dismissed for just 199, while in Ahmedabad, Pakistan was folded for 191. Dravid proposed that only pitches with a high score ought to be deducted from a good grade.
He said the following at a news conference during the 2023 World Cup:
“If you want to only see 350-run matches and rate only those pitches as good, then I disagree with that. You have to see different skills on display as well. If you wanted to only see fours and sixes being hit, then we have T20 for that. Why do we need anything else?”
“There are skills on display on 350 wickets also,” Dravid continued. “That’s fine on that particular day. But in the first few games when it spins a little bit or something happens that brings the bowlers into the game, and you start rating pitches as average, where does it leave the bowlers?
Rahul Dravid
“Why are they coming then? Play two T20 matches then. We need to have a better way of deciding what is good or average.”
Rahul Dravid
Rohit Sharma’s team had an impressive series at the World Cup, achieving 10 victories in a row leading up to the final battle. Despite such streak, they met their first loss in the ultimate match, which saw them end up as the second-best performers.
