The pitch at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, where India's ODI World Cup final against Australia took place on November 19, has been assessed as average by the International Cricket Council (ICC). However, ICC match referee and former Zimbabwe batter Andy Pycroft rated the pitch as ‘very good’.
Australia secured victory in the World Cup final by defeating India by six wickets on a slow and sluggish pitch. After Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl, India could only manage a total of 240 runs in 50 overs.
Apart from KL Rahul (66), Virat Kohli (54) and Rohit Sharma (47), no other batter crossed 20 runs.
In response, Australia successfully chased down the target in 43 overs, with opener Travis Head contributing a match-winning 137 runs off 120 balls.
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Before the game, Australia skipper Cummins had reportedly raised concerns about the state of the pitch, previously utilised for the India-Pakistan encounter on October 14, while his Indian counterpart Rohit chose not to comment on the matter. After the final, Ricky Ponting, a two-time World Cup-winning captain, suggested that India's pitch strategy had "backfired."
The ICC rated the pitches in Kolkata, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Chennai, where India played league matches against South Africa, England, Pakistan, and Australia, as 'average.'
However, the pitch at Wankhede Stadium, where India were set to face New Zealand in the semifinals, received a 'good' rating. Before the match, media reports suggested that the hosts might have switched to a used surface instead of a new one.
The Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata, the venue for the second semifinal between Australia and South Africa, was also assessed as 'average' by the ICC. The match was a low-scoring contest, with Australia bowling out South Africa for 212 in 49.4 overs. Australia then reached the target in 47.2 overs, losing seven wickets. In contrast, the Eden Gardens outfield received a 'very good' rating from the ICC match referee and former India bowler Javagal Srinath.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by India Today)
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