ICC rates Newlands pitch for the 2nd Test between South Africa and India as "unsatisfactory" [Post#103]

[The Bald Eagle]

A wicket fest occurred today in Newlands cricket ground, Cape Town during the second Test between South Africa and India. First, Indian bowlers did a carnage of South African batting line by reducing them to a lowly team total of 55. Afterwards the South African bowlers returned the favor by brushing aside the Indian batting tail and rattling their last 6 wickets without conceding even a single run.


Dean Elgar also expressed his flabbergastion on the precarious nature of the Newlands pitch today. He said:
"It (The pitch) generally plays a little bit slower and as a batter you can adjust to that. This one just seemed to get quicker as the session went on,"
"never seen a Newlands pitch like this before. I've never seen the pitch that quick on day one,"

"I don't think as batters you mind the pace in the wicket but then you need the bounce to be consistent. The bounce was a little bit inconsistent with some keeping low and some bouncing quite steeply. There's also the seam movement, which you don't mind on day one but if you have the seam movement with consistent bounce, then it's a different situation."

"There was a lot steeper bounce that way. And that side, it was a little bit lower. So I don't know what to make of it."

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Since India is the beneficiary, nobody is going to complain about the pitch

 

[W63L35]

20 or more wickets in a day.

 

[sweep_shot]

23 wickets on Day 1 is not normal.

Sanction is warranted here.

 

[Buffet]

Sure, it was a horrible pitch and not fit for a test match.

 

[Devadwal]

Since India is the beneficiary, nobody is going to complain about the pitch

Wrong , Since this test is not Played on Indian pitch so nobody is going to talk or complain about the pitch .
There should be no talk about pitch during India vs England test series which start later in this month's .

 

[Bewal Express]

A terrible wicket

 

[The Bald Eagle]

The pitch today was too quick and the batsmen from both teams had no idea about that. I feel whether any sanction call will be made against it or not depends on the result of the match. If India wins then everything will be brushed under the carpet. But if not, then expecting a great hue and cry over it.

 

[Champ_Pal]

It was not that bad. Its just that the bounce was steep. Modern T20 batsmen cannot bat on such pitches.

 

[Buffet]

Inconsistent bounce combined with steep one makes it a poor pitch when it happens on day 1.

 

[hitthestump]

I can’t shake the feeling that India had something to do with this.

After their humiliation in the first test I wonder if the BCCI would have leant on the broke CSA board to doctor the wicket.

It is an anomaly to see such a bad pitch in South Africa.

 

[Saurav]

I can’t shake the feeling that India had something to do with this.

After their humiliation in the first test I wonder if the BCCI would have leant on the broke CSA board to doctor the wicket.

It is an anomaly to see such a bad pitch in South Africa.

Then they would have made it a spin friendly track.

This plays right in SA's hands.

 

[Markhor]

On two opposite ends of the awful cricket pitch spectrum - there's Rambo's Highways and there's this Newlands surface.

CSA have reduced Test cricket to a farce in the last few days.

 

[gazza619]

Indian players are probably that the test match will finish in 1.5 days. This means more rest ahead of the multi million IPL

 

[kingusama92]

Terrible pitch.

Just as bad as when India tailors their wickets to be dustbowls from ball one.

This game might be over in 1 1/2 days based on the speed things are going.

 

[160KPH]

The pitch will almost certainly receive a fine.

If you look at the averages, this ground is the most difficult place to bat on in the first session. Usually afterwards the pitch flattens out and it becomes much easier for batting - one of the reasons I am confused as to why South Africa chose to bat first. However, in this instance it’s gone even beyond what it usually is and I doubt it will flatten to a very significant degree.

Also, I don’t really understand why even South Africa would want such a pitch prepared. Once a pitch becomes this difficult, it introduces a level of randomness which almost makes a worse bowling attack as good as a better one. It reminds me of when India produced that dust bowl and lost a match they should not have.

 

[kingusama92]

The groundsman at this stadium is new to the job. I think this was his first Test match pitch and he's produced an absolute shocker on his debut.

They should have a senior pitch curator to help a rookie during their first 5-10 matches.

 

[MenInG]

The groundsman at this stadium is new to the job. I think this was his first Test match pitch and he's produced an absolute shocker on his debut.

They should have a senior pitch curator to help a rookie during their first 5-10 matches.

That in itself should result in a sanction.

 

[Swashbuckler]

I can’t shake the feeling that India had something to do with this.

After their humiliation in the first test I wonder if the BCCI would have leant on the broke CSA board to doctor the wicket.

It is an anomaly to see such a bad pitch in South Africa.

When was the last time you saw a match in SA featuring an Asian side which went beyond 3 days? And spinners are completely taken out of the equation, whether it be Herath, Yasir or Ashwin/Jadeja.

Moreover such a pitch is dangerous. Remember the 2018 test in Wanderers which was almost called off due to dangerous uneven bounce, and it was Elgar/Amla who were complaining, not the Indians.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Anyway this match will get over in 4-5 sessions. Even the most extreme rank turners last more than 6 sessions, the most extreme pitch India has ever prepared was in 2004 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Mumbai and that went for 9 sessions.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Yes for sure. Shocking wicket.

 

[JattMaula]

For sure.

Though it's not as dangerous as Wanderers in 2018. That one was literally deadly.

 

[shortbread]

Both the tests were fun to watch

 

[MenInG]

2-Day Test.

Bit of a joke to be honest.

 

[jnaveen1980]

They prepared a pitch to suit their tall fast bowlers. Variable bounce starting from normal bounce to steep bounce making the life very difficult for batsmen.

 

[sweep_shot]

2-Day Test.

Bit of a joke to be honest.

Didn't even last full 2 days.

The entire Test lasted 642 balls. This is the shortest Test in history.

 

[volcyz]

Most pathetic pitch ever

 

[hitthestump]

A complete lottery. Thanks to the doctored pitch it was not really a test, just which team was luckier over 2 days.

It’s clear that SA are far the better team so they will be feeling robbed here.

 

[topspin]

I can’t shake the feeling that India had something to do with this.

After their humiliation in the first test I wonder if the BCCI would have leant on the broke CSA board to doctor the wicket.

It is an anomaly to see such a bad pitch in South Africa.

LOL

If India had anything to do with this, they would've requested for a dry surface.

 

[Devadwal]

Definitely a ban is needed for this ground to teach a lesson for South African pitch curators. they Produced wrost pitch most of times.

 

[Swashbuckler]

It's official now, the worst wicket in the 100+ years history of test cricket. Look at the dates of others on the list, before we got our independence from the British.

Shortest completed Test matches (by balls bowled)
642 - SA vs IND, Cape Town, 2024
656 - AUS vs SA, Melbourne, 1932
672 - WI vs ENG, Bridgetown, 1935
788 - ENG vs AUS, Manchester, 1888
792 - ENG vs AUS, Lord’s, 1888

 

[Mesozoic]

I can’t shake the feeling that India had something to do with this.

After their humiliation in the first test I wonder if the BCCI would have leant on the broke CSA board to doctor the wicket.

It is an anomaly to see such a bad pitch in South Africa.

A complete lottery. Thanks to the doctored pitch it was not really a test, just which team was luckier over 2 days.

It’s clear that SA are far the better team so they will be feeling robbed here.

Brother. It's okay. It's just sport.

Pretty sure you'd have been saying something entirely different had India lost on the same wicket.

 

[Swashbuckler]

2-Day Test.

Bit of a joke to be honest.

Not even proper 2 days, since 90 overs must be bowled per day, both teams had slow over rates not helped by rate of wickets falling and zero overs of spin.

Total 107 overs were bowled, which means 1 day and just over half of morning session of day 2, might as well call it a 1 day test.

This entire series lasted less than 11 sessions, 3 days and 2 sessions.

 

[hitthestump]

Wipe those tears away , brother. It's okay. It's just sport.

Pretty sure you'd have been saying something entirely different had India lost on the same wicket.

It is extremely rare to see a wicket like this in SA.

Whereas altered pitches appear in India every other Tuesday.

We know CSA is broke and the BCCI have no morals whatsoever.

This pitch wasn’t a competitive surface. It was a lottery. A dry pitch would be too obvious. But on this wicket anyone could have won.

I’m sorry but it’s the reputation of the BCCI that precedes them. The farcical WC held means nobody will trust India any time soon.

 

[Mesozoic]

Yes, I know this pitch is substandard. But this most definitely not a 55 all out or a 0/6 kind of wicket.


As someone said above , 2018 Wanderers wicket was far far more treacherous than this one. Only difference is that the current South African batting line-up is absolutely trash and India's middle and lower order is hot garbage. Excessive bounce from a good length is not an unseen phenomenon in South Africa. Just that the batting standards are at all time low currently, that these surfaces are beginning to look more and more dodgy.

 

[jnaveen1980]

A complete lottery. Thanks to the doctored pitch it was not really a test, just which team was luckier over 2 days.

It’s clear that SA are far the better team so they will be feeling robbed here.

Far better team ? How? They got rolled over on a pitch they are more familiar with

 

[vprasanna83]

Sub-standard wicket . No doubts about . Sideways movement is ok , but such inconsistent bounce on Day 1/2 is not reasonable .

However , that brings me to a more important point . Which surface is worse for Test Cricket - a flat road or a shocker like this one ?

I would opine that the road still does far more damage to Test cricket . However bad this surface was , it still made for some very entertaining cricket .

A dull draw on a road can put off a young fan for life !

 

[Mesozoic]

It is extremely rare to see a wicket like this in SA.

Whereas altered pitches appear in India every other Tuesday.

We know CSA is broke and the BCCI have no morals whatsoever.

This pitch wasn’t a competitive surface. It was a lottery. A dry pitch would be too obvious. But on this wicket anyone could have won.

I’m sorry but it’s the reputation of the BCCI that precedes them. The farcical WC held means nobody will trust India any time soon.

Can't believe I'm seeing a day where india wins a test match in South Africa on a fast bowling paradise and Pakistani fans are accusing BCCI of pitch tampering lmao. As they say, blind hatred is the death of sanity and objectivity.

 

[Swashbuckler]

2018 Wanderer's was physically more dangerous I agree. We were lucky nobody got killed in that test, Elgar and Amla were complaining about the wicked nature of the pitch in 4th innings and wanted to walk out.

This test though saw more lateral movement.

 

[Devadwal]

Sub-standard wicket . No doubts about . Sideways movement is ok , but such inconsistent bounce on Day 1/2 is not reasonable .

However , that brings me to a more important point . Which surface is worse for Test Cricket - a flat road or a shocker like this one ?

I would opine that the road still does far more damage to Test cricket . However bad this surface was , it still made for some very entertaining cricket .

A dull draw on a road can put off a young fan for life !

Rank turner or Greenish pitch is not a problem but inconsistent bounce on day one is wrost for batters .

 

[Swashbuckler]

Sub-standard wicket . No doubts about . Sideways movement is ok , but such inconsistent bounce on Day 1/2 is not reasonable .

However , that brings me to a more important point . Which surface is worse for Test Cricket - a flat road or a shocker like this one ?

I would opine that the road still does far more damage to Test cricket . However bad this surface was , it still made for some very entertaining cricket .

A dull draw on a road can put off a young fan for life !

Flat road is better. On this kind of surface a batsman can get badly injured, and even worse. If a 125 kph trundler like Mukesh Kumar can take out your head from 4 m length, that pitch isn't fit for playing, simple.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Rank turner or Greenish pitch is not a problem but inconsistent bounce on day one is wrost for batters .

They prepare pitches that suit their bowlers. At times it backfires like this.

 

[Swashbuckler]

5th ball of 1st over to Rohit, Gill dismissal. Watch both deliveries, by Rabada, same length, one was a scooter, one nearly took a batsman's head off. Inconsistent bounce like this is most dangerous. Excessive seam, swing, turn, all can be tackled. But so much variance in bounce by a bowler bowling 140 clicks, makes it a matter of life and death.

 

[jnaveen1980]

5th ball of 1st over to Rohit, Gill dismissal. Watch both deliveries, by Rabada, same length, one was a scooter, one nearly took a batsman's head off. Inconsistent bounce like this is most dangerous. Excessive seam, swing, turn, all can be tackled. But so much variance in bounce by a bowler bowling 140 clicks, makes it a matter of life and death.

Gill, Kohli, ROhit, Rahul all 4 are accomplished players against short stuffs. Them getting surprised by odd ball is a clear indication pitch is unpredictable. It was also different from different ends. A total nightmare for a batsman to survive here.

 

[vprasanna83]

Flat road is better. On this kind of surface a batsman can get badly injured, and even worse. If a 125 kph trundler like Mukesh Kumar can take out your head from 4 m length, that pitch isn't fit for playing, simple.

Flat road damages Test Cricket ! This may land up batsmen with a few bruises , but in this day and age of helmets , there is no danger greater than that

 

[jnaveen1980]

It is extremely rare to see a wicket like this in SA.

Whereas altered pitches appear in India every other Tuesday.

We know CSA is broke and the BCCI have no morals whatsoever.

This pitch wasn’t a competitive surface. It was a lottery. A dry pitch would be too obvious. But on this wicket anyone could have won.

I’m sorry but it’s the reputation of the BCCI that precedes them. The farcical WC held means nobody will trust India any time soon.

lol On this very pitch. SA got bowled out for 93 and in return Australia reduced to 24/9 before bowled out for 47 runs. "Nobody" = Whingers.

 

[Devadwal]

Flat road is better. On this kind of surface a batsman can get badly injured, and even worse. If a 125 kph trundler like Mukesh Kumar can take out your head from 4 m length, that pitch isn't fit for playing, simple.

Nah flat pitch is boring to watch test cricket .need spicy pitch either it turner or greenish .

 

[Mesozoic]

Flat road is better. On this kind of surface a batsman can get badly injured, and even worse. If a 125 kph trundler like Mukesh Kumar can take out your head from 4 m length, that pitch isn't fit for playing, simple.

Disagree. It's sport... Minor injuries aren't that big of a deal. At the end of day, they're playing out there to entertain millions of people watching them. And flat roads do the exact opposite of that (in test cricket).

 

[emranabbas]

to be fair I enjoyed this match, there should be a a pitch like this every now and again

 

[jnaveen1980]

CricViz rated this as the toughest pitch since advent of ball tracking.

They also rated Markram's 100 as the toughest ever based on their model.

Many cricket boards employ CricViz's services for cricket data/analytics. So when they say something, we must listen, instead of nostalgia rubbish like things were 10 times tougher in my great grandpa's era.

I have watched Kingsmead test. That i thought was very tough. India was shot out for 100 & 66. Ball is hooping around prodigiously. Donald was near unplayable. But this pitch is worse than that.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Philander and Pollock are talking about 9 mm grass cover which caused some uneven indentations on the pitch, they said batting would have got tougher with time due to exposure to sun and those grass spots further drying up. No trace of cloud in the venue these 2 days.

SA getting out so cheaply in 1st session was kind of unexpected. Even if they had scored 150 they would have won this test. This is a bat first venue like Centurion but in Centurion it was very overcast on day 1.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Since South Africa's re-entry 14 times a team has been bowled out under 100 runs in SA

10 times by visiting sides.

New zealand 45 - Newlands
Australia 47 - Newlands
Pakistan 49 - Jo Burg
Bangladesh 53 - Durban
ZImbabwe 54 - Newlands
India 66 - Durban
Zimbabwe 68 - Gqeberha
Bangladesh 80 - Gqeberha
Bangladesh 90 - Potchefstroom
Srilanka 95 - Newlands

4 times by South Africa

vs India 55 - Newlands
vs England 83 - Jo Burg
vs India 84 - Jo Burg
vs Australia 96 - Newlands


So Newlands commonly feature in these low score affairs

 

[MP2011]

Just as bad as when India tailors their wickets to be dustbowls from ball one.

At least 1 team does well on those 'dustbowls'! Not here though.

 

[mazkhan]

Apart from that Perth wicket due to the bounce

I think the 2 wickets produced at mcg and sydney are the ideal test wicket. Something there for pace , spin and batsmen.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Sub-standard wicket . No doubts about . Sideways movement is ok , but such inconsistent bounce on Day 1/2 is not reasonable .

However , that brings me to a more important point . Which surface is worse for Test Cricket - a flat road or a shocker like this one ?

I would opine that the road still does far more damage to Test cricket . However bad this surface was , it still made for some very entertaining cricket .

A dull draw on a road can put off a young fan for life !

Totally agree.
Nothing is worse for the future of Test cricket than the roads regularly turned out in Pakistan.
One can’t help feeling this is linked to having so many batsmen captaining the side recently and the PCB being so afraid of losing, that they miss the chance to win.

In general terms, a green top, a rank turner on a dust bowl, a bouncy wicket etc make for more interesting cricket than a flat track, where mediocre players score runs and it peters out into a tame draw.

The trouble with this current wicket was the inconsistent bounce — that shouldn’t happen

 

[ravisurya]

Far better team ? How? They got rolled over on a pitch they are more familiar with

Just like Pakistan is a far more better team to Australia but keeps losing.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Just like Pakistan is a far more better team to Australia but keeps losing.

Yea. if it is our team we find silverlining. If it is some other team take a dig at winning team.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Had KL Rahul not dropped that sitter of Markram, this match would have lasted only 90 overs, just 1 day of cricket. Wish he had taken that to expose this pitch.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Interesting press conference there by Rohit. When asked about the pitch, a fiery response.

 

[MP2011]

When asked about the pitch, a fiery response.

Can you quote him in a few sentences?

 

[Swashbuckler]

2 spinners played this match, Jadeja and Maharaj, zero overs of spin. Imagine a test in SC with zero overs of pace. NZ is also notorious for this, they don't even select spinners.

Australia is the best in the world because they prepare the fairest pitches and allow everyone to thrive, batsmen, pacers, spinners.

 

[Devadwal]

Rohit Sharma said, "I don't mind playing on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and doesn't complain about Indian pitches".You come here to challenge yourself and when people come to India it is challenging as well
Well-done Rohit Sharma .about time we shut mouth of double faced people's .

 

[Swashbuckler]

Can you quote him in a few sentences?

Said that he doesn't mind playing on this pitch but visiting teams should shut up when they tour India. They should challenge themselves in foreign conditions like how Indian team challenges itself in these conditions. Asked match referees to judge the pitch and not be biased just because of who the host country is. And that some people get alarmed with puff of dust but not when there are big cracks.

 

[MP2011]

Said that he doesn't mind playing on this pitch but visiting teams should shut up when they tour India. They should challenge themselves in foreign conditions like how Indian team challenges itself in these conditions. Asked match referees to judge the pitch and not be biased just because of who the host country is. And that some people get alarmed with puff of dust but not when there are big cracks.

Thanks.

Well said Rohit. Kohli for all his fake bravado, could never be as forthright as Rohit is.

 

[mazkhan]

It's no excuse

Icc needs to step in a test pitch should be a fair play contest between bat and ball.

When pitches start getting doctored to his level it kills the game

Penalty points and deductions need to start being given.

South africa need to be deducted points.

Same way what that rambo clown did in pakistan where he made the most dead wickets because he openly said we fear australian and English bowlers , then when the heat came on he started mumbling some rubbish about drop in pitches , cranes and machines.

 

[Rajdeep]

Said that he doesn't mind playing on this pitch but visiting teams should shut up when they tour India. They should challenge themselves in foreign conditions like how Indian team challenges itself in these conditions. Asked match referees to judge the pitch and not be biased just because of who the host country is. And that some people get alarmed with puff of dust but not when there are big cracks.

Excellent statement by Rohit Sharma. It deserve a separate thread actually that should visiting team complains about pitch when they visit India?

 

[HitWicket]

Rohit Sharma said, "I don't mind playing on pitches like this as long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and doesn't complain about Indian pitches".You come here to challenge yourself and when people come to India it is challenging as well
Well-done Rohit Sharma .about time we shut mouth of double faced people's .

Because unlike here where there is unanimous agreement that the pitch was poor if you justly criticise a poor pitch in India people will continue to try to defend it. We've even got Rohit here crying in a press conference about criticism months later. Rohit should clearly be sanctioned for his post match comments but I think we all know that he'll unsurprisingly get away with it.

 

[Caved12]

Rohit should say that pitches like this one and those dust bowls in India should never be allowed by ICC and both countries should be ashamed of themselves for creating such pitches.

 

[Buffet]

Anything not dangerous to play is fine. Rank turners on day one, lots of movements on first day, flat ones for all 5 days... Not ideal but acceptable.

What is not acceptable - Uneven bounce which is dangerous on first day itself. 120 KPH bowlers looked like they were going to take your head off here.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Rohit Sharma in the post match media talk took a dig at Newlands cricket ground pitch with following comments :

"I mean, we saw what happened in this match, how the pitch played and stuff like that. I honestly don't mind playing on pitches like this. As long as everyone keeps their mouth shut in India and don't talk too much about Indian pitches, honestly,"

"Because you come here [in Test cricket] to challenge yourself. Yes, it is dangerous. It is challenging. So, and when people come to India, it is again pretty challenging as well. Look, when you are here to play Test cricket, we talk about Test cricket, the ultimate prize, Test cricket being the pinnacle and stuff like that. I think it's important that we also stand by it."

"I think it's important that we stay neutral everywhere we go. Especially the match referees. You know, some of these match referees need to keep their eye on how they rate pitches. It's quite important. I still can't believe that the World Cup final pitch was rated below average. A batsman got a hundred there in the final. How can that be a poor pitch? So these are the things the ICC, the match referees, they need to look into and start rating pitches based on what they see, not based on the countries. I think that's quite important,"

"So I hope they keep their ears open, they keep their eyes open and look into those aspects of the game. Honestly, I'm all for pitches like this. We want to challenge playing on pitches like this. We pride ourselves playing on pitches like this. Uh, but all I wanna say is be neutral."

 

[HitWicket]

I still can't believe that the World Cup final pitch was rated below average. A batsman got a hundred there in the final. How can that be a poor pitch?

Did Rohit get hit on the head on this poor pitch or something? He's mentioned 2 different ratings in his ramblings here, neither of which are the rating the world cup final pitch actually got.

 

[Swashbuckler]

I think this pitch will get a bad rating because SA has lost the match.

Judging from the reactions in SA, Pollock, Philander etc. spent so much time talking about the pitch. Philander was fuming because he is from Cape Town and knows this pitch, he was saying a normal pitch was enough to seal the series, and even if they wanted to spice it up they could have done like previous times against India which resulted in 3 day matches instead of this record breaking match. Interestingly the previous 2 Cape Town matches between the 2 sides were also low scoring thrillers and finished in 2-3 days. Pollock lamented that this kind of extreme nature brought Indian pacers into the picture. Mbangwa I think was talking about first 3 days tickets being sold out and how fans are angry, how the shopkeepers and food stall people will face losses because of this. Lot of talk about the pitch, even Haysman I think was having a go at the curator.

The Protea fans on X were fuming especially when the pitch's character didn't improve on day 2. Preparing an extreme home pitch and losing is a different level of pain, as I am sure all Indian fans have experienced.

 

[Buffet]

Rohit is actually correct.

Legacy domination of admin has made it acceptable to have green mamba on day 1 but not the rank turners on days 1. That's just due to history. Both are same for me and I don't see any issue with both.

Issue should be dangerous to bat pitch.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Preparing extreme pitches is always a stupid exercise unless your team is a minnow. Because it narrows the skill gap, on rank turners visiting spinners will close down the gap with Ashwin/Jadeja as compared to a traditional Indian pitch. On green tops, visiting bowlers close gap with Rabada, Cummins, Anderson, Boult etc. That is why India has lost on a few rank turners and also won on green carpets, same with other teams.

But dangerous pitches is a no go, inconsistent bounce should never go unpunished, especially when variance ranges from going 10 feet above batsman's head to scooting along the ground. Some of the balls Mukesh bowled in this match were scary viewing experience and he is just a harmless trundler. Facing Cummins in WACA or Gabba is less scary than facing Mukesh here.

 

[Devadwal]

Rohit Sharma said "We know pitches in India will spin but people don’t like it because it turns from ball one but if it seams from ball one, that is OK? That is not fair".

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Rohit Sharma said "We know pitches in India will spin but people don’t like it because it turns from ball one but if it seams from ball one, that is OK? That is not fair".

A fiery response from Rohit but you can't imagine the quantum of criticism from ICT had India lost this one.

 

[Devadwal]

A fiery response from Rohit but you can't imagine the quantum of criticism from ICT had India lost this one.

love the fact that the nastier the pitch, the more up for a fight this India team seems to be. Win or lose, they have never complained about pitches or conditions. Hats off to them for that

 

[Caved12]

Nothing wrong with a pitch where it turns from ball one, but India created pitches against South Africa where you could see the puffs of dust from ball one. Those were horrible pitches and should have never been allowed to play cricket on.

 

[Caved12]

Instead of saying that this was a dangerous pitch to play on, Rohit looked at this opportunity to defend the pitches that India made in the past. Chor ki dadhi mei tinka

 

[Caved12]

I am so happy to see that this pitch backfired badly and SA lost this match Hilarious