India and South Africa were part of history in the New Year Test played at Newlands in Cape Town. The match ended in just 107 overs with the visitors winning it by seven wickets to level the two-match series. Even the India skipper Rohit Sharma had expressed his views targetting the experts and the ICC regarding the fairness on assessing the pitches in India and the SENA countries. He was all to play on pitches like Newlands but wanted people to 'shut their mouth' over pitches in India.
Meanwhile, ICC has taken serious note of the pitch fiasco at Newlands and has rated it 'unsatisfactory'. The match referee Chris Broad submitted his report and the decision was made after the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process was duly completed. "The pitch in Newlands was very difficult to bat on. 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," Broad said according to the ICC.
According to the rules set by the ICC, one demerit point is awarded to the pitches rated by the match referree as unsatisfactory. If a certain venue reaches six demerit points, it is suspended from hosting international cricket for a year. The suspension is two years for 12 demerit points. Moreover, the demerit points remain active for a rolling period of five years. Cricket South Africa (CSA), the home board, will now have 14 days to appeal against the rating provided by the ICC.
As far as the Test match is concerned, South Africa, after opting to bat first, were skittled for just 55 runs before lunch on Day one as Mohammed Siraj registered his best figures of 6/15. In response, India were bundled out for 153 runs as they lost their last six wickets for 0 runs in the worst collapse in Test cricket history. The hosts performed better in the second innings but could only muster 176 runs thanks to a stunning century from Aiden Markram. India then chased down the target of 79 runs in just 12 overs with seven wickets in hand to level the series.
