Bengaluru pitch for IND vs SL pink-ball Test rated 'below average' by match referee Javagal Srinath, gets one demerit point

The Bengaluru pitch for the second Test between Indian and Sri Lanka has been rated ‘below average’ by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The second and final Test of the series lasted just eight sessions as it was wrapped up on Day 3 itself.

Match referee Javagal Srinath in his report to ICC said that there was no contest between bat and ball which led to one demerit point under ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

“The pitch offered a lot of turn on the first day itself and though it improved with every session, in my view, it was not an even contest between bat and ball,” Srinath said in a statement issued by ICC.

What do rules say?

According to the revised ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, venues whose pitches are rated below average by match referees receive one demerit point which happened in the case of Bengaluru. On the other hand, three and five demerit points are awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as poor and unfit respectively.

These demerit points will remain active for the current five-year period. If the particular pitch accumulates five demerit points or more, it will be suspended from hosting any form of international cricket for one year.

What happened in Bengaluru?

Bowlers dominated in the pink-ball Test with as many as 16 wickets falling in a single day. Visitors were bundled out for a paltry total of 109 in the first innings with Jasprit Bumrah bagging his maiden Test five-wicket haul at home. In the first innings, Sri Lankan spinners took eight out of 10 wickets. For India, Shreyas Iyer’s counter-attacking helped them post a respectable total of 252.

In the second innings, Indian batters did well but Sri Lankan spinners still accounted for eight out of nine wickets. In the last innings, Ravichandran Ashwin dominated the proceedings with help from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Apart from Dimuth Karunaratne’s fighting 107 and Kusal Mendis’ half-century, no other Sri Lankan batter could play himself in on a Day 3 pitch at M.Chinnaswamy stadium as India won by a massive margin of 238 runs.