The International Cricket Council (ICC) on January 8 rated the pitch used for the second Test between India and South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town as 'unsatisfactory' as the low-scoring game ended within five sessions.
ICC match referee Chris Broad in his report wrote that the match officials were concerned about the nature of the pitch. After the assessment, the pitch was rated 'unsatisfactory'.
“The pitch in Newlands was very difficult to bat on," Broad said. "The ball bounced quickly and sometimes alarmingly throughout the match, making it difficult to play shots. Several batters were hit on the gloves and many wickets also fell due to the awkward bounce.”
Only Aiden Markram was able to score a century in the low-scoring affair where 23 wickets fell on Day 1 and 10 on Day 2. The match ended in 107 overs, the shortest completed Test match.
One demerit point is awarded to Newlands pitch as per the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
The Cricket South Africa (CSA) has 14 days to appeal the sanction.
The nature of the pitch was such that spinners from both sides, Keshav Maharaj and Ravindra Jadeja did not get a single over.
After winning the toss, Dean Elgar opted to bat first. Mohammed Siraj ran riot with the new ball as South Africa were bundled out for 55, their lowest Test score since readmission.
Three of India's top batters got starts but could not score a half-century. From 153/4, India were bowled out without adding a single run to the score. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Nandre Burger took three wickets each.
In South Africa's second innings, Markram's 106-run knock helped South Africa post 176. No other Proteas batter could cross the score of 12 as Jasprit Bumrah took a six-wicket haul.
Chasing a target of 79, Indian batters looked to score quickly and lost three wickets. But India got over the line in just 12 overs to win the Test by seven wickets and draw the two-Test series 1-1.
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