Team India's head coach Rahul Dravid came down heavily on the average rating of two of the Indian pitches by International Cricket Council's (ICC) amidst the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. The pitches used for the India vs Pakistan match on October 14 in Ahmedabad and the India vs Australia clash on October 8 in Chennai received an 'average' rating respectively.
Notably, as of October 15, these are the only two surfaces in the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup in India to be classified as 'average.' All other pitches have secured 'good' or 'very good' ratings.
On the eve of India versus New Zealand's ODI World Cup clash Dravid expressed his disagreement on the average ratings of the two wickets by the ICC.
“I would disagree with the average ratings of the two wickets by the ICC because I think they were good wickets. If you only want to 350-plus wickets and rate those wickets as good, I would disagree with it. If you only want to see fours and sixes being hit, then you have t20s for it. One day demands skills. We’ve played on good wickets in Delhi and Pune, good 300-plus wickets. If you only want to see 350-plus scores then, why have bowlers here. You need skills to bat and bowl,” Dravid said in the pre-match press conference on October 21, Saturday.
“We played t20 World Cup in Australia, In Perth we played against South Africa, 130odd runs we scored don’t remember what was the rating given to that wicket.”
“In a tournament you want to see variety. There will games when runs are scored and there will be wickets when bowlers will pick wickets,” Dravid added.
In the encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India clinched victory by seven wickets, having restricted Pakistan to 191 runs in 42.5 overs. Pakistan suffered a batting collapse in that match, losing eight wickets for just 36 runs from a commanding position of 155/2. India then achieved the target in merely 30.3 overs. Andy Pycroft, the former Zimbabwean player, officiated this game as the match referee.
On the other hand, during the game at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, spinners enjoyed a favorable pitch. There, India bowled Australia out for 199 runs in 49.3 overs and subsequently sealed the win by six wickets. Richie Richardson, the ex-West Indies skipper, was the appointed match referee for this match.
It's customary for the ICC match referees to assign ratings to the pitches and outfields. A point to note is the outfield at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, which drew criticism from England's captain, Jos Buttler. It received an 'average' classification from ICC match referee and former Indian bowler, Javagal Srinath.
Meanwhile, speaking on Dharamsala's pitch, where India will be playing their next match against New Zealand, Dravid said,"Dew will be a factor in Dharamsala. Netherlands defended a good score against South Africa. It’s not that you can’t defend, you may have to score a few extra runs."
Meanwhile, India, after notching back-to-back victories against Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, are gearing up to take on New Zealand on October 22, Sunday. Notably both the teams are still undefeated in the ongoing ODI World Cup, with New Zealand grabbing the top spot in the points table and India well placed at no.2 in the standings.
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