Was the pitch for the 5th Test between Australia and India in Sydney fair for Test match cricket?

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Sunil is very correct with his assessment this was not a suitable pitch and Aussies did a bit of cheating in my opinion. Same like Umpiring Issue in previous test this pitch issue caught India very badly.

Let's see the great Sunil Gavaskar view

After 26 wickets fell in the first two days of the SCG Test, Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the pitch and said the pitch is “not ideal” for the Test match.

“When I saw the pitch I did say the cows could have gone and grazed on it,” Sunil Gavaskar said on ABC Sport.

“This is not the ideal Test match pitch that you want because you want it to go into a fourth or the fifth day. Unless there is rain I don’t see us being here on day four.”

Gavaskar also said that “all hell would have broken loose” if the same thing happened on an Indian pitch.

Even former players who played on this pitch before were so surprised. We had Glenn McGrath saying he’d never seen that much grass on the pitch.

“The point is, when you go overseas you have to be prepared to play on the surface.”

Gavaskar also slammed former cricketers from England and Australia for bemoaning tough pitches in the India.

Over the years have you ever heard a former Indian cricketer complain about conditions? They accept that’s what playing overseas is all about,” Gavaskar said.

“We are not moaners, we are not whingers. When we go [abroad] and play cricket we will tough it out, and if we are beaten, we are beaten. We understand that overseas it’s very difficult to beat home teams. You’ll never find us complaining.

“But 15 wickets in a day in India, man, there would be hell.”

 
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Yes, it was not usual pitch for that venue, but what's the problem?

I did not see much of an uneven bounce on day one which can hurt batsmen. Those pithces shouldn't exist. No issue with pitch here. Rank turners are also good.

That's what makes test cricket interesting. You get tested in different conditions as a bowler and batsman. As long as players are not in danger of getting hurt, all kinds of pitches are fine. I won't like to see green mamba, rank turners or super roads all the time, but it's fine to have them time to time. I don't get the issue.
 
Time for Sunny G to be put in an old people's home so he can get the medication he needs.

India produce moon dust wickets which turn square from ball one. He wants to complain about the surface here..

What about this Indian home tests which don't get to day 4 or 5

Indians always find something to cry about
 
Lol fer. They could have easily produced a ROAD to kill any chance for India to draw the series.

Rather than moan, Mr Gavaskar and Co should be thankful for a result oriented wicket. Bottom line is, neither Indian Batting or bowling bar their captain is good enough.

Really is a shocking era of Test cricket.
With Aussies probably best of a shocking bunch.
 
What was the wrong with the pitch ?

This is the exact type of pitch that had me glued to the match.

Why make a flat road that will make everyone fall asleep that would only ensured Australia win the series 2-1 ?

India just bowled badly in the final innings and of course losing Bumrah was a big blow as well.

Test cricket should be reduced to 4 days but have more pitches like these.
 
You could make a flat pitch and the Aussies would still have had Kohli knicking to the slips.
 
It's quite simple. If only one aspect of the game is favoured by the pitch, it's not good for cricket.

The pitch can seam or swing on day one and even offer spin, but the bounce must be consistent. If deliveries shoot up off a length or stay alarmingly low, that's a serious issue and at Sydney, it was an issue.
 
“We are not moaners, we are not whingers. When we go [abroad] and play cricket we will tough it out, and if we are beaten, we are beaten. We understand that overseas it’s very difficult to beat home teams. You’ll never find us complaining.

“But 15 wickets in a day in India, man, there would be hell.”

Gavaskar moaning about the pitch and moaning about other teams moaning while claiming Indians don't moan is just peak India.
 
As long as its not a dangerous pitch , like very uneven bounce with some balls rising to helmet level, its absolutely fine. Both teams need to play on the same pitch. You just have to adapt to the conditions and part of the challenge is that the home team can create conditions that favour them
 
A pitch clearly "prepared" to aid fast bowlers. Not the normal SCG track.

Nothing wrong with it. They have every right to exploit our weaknesses. Part of home advantage
 
A pitch clearly "prepared" to aid fast bowlers. Not the normal SCG track.

Nothing wrong with it. They have every right to exploit our weaknesses. Part of home advantage
India were competitive only in 2 games that offered excessive help to the seamers on first 2 days. Perth and Sydney.

A flatter pitch in Sydney would have meant a more comprehensive defeat.
 
Absolutely.

India won't have a chance on a flatter pitch, the spicy pitch made the game competitive as people like Prasidh and Siraj were able to do damage, that's what spicy wickets do, bridge the gap between decent bowlers and very good to great ones.
 
It was a slightly dangerous surface. Pant was hit on flush on the helmet on first day and it seemed he had no reaction time.

This pitch offered a lot of uneven bounce and also exaggerated seam movement due to thick covering of grass.

Should be rated 'unsatisfactory'
 
India were competitive only in 2 games that offered excessive help to the seamers on first 2 days. Perth and Sydney.

A flatter pitch in Sydney would have meant a more comprehensive defeat.

India batted much better when the track flattened out at Perth.

Anyway , that doesn't change the fact that this was not a normal SCG pitch , regardless of what the outcome may have been
 
What was the wrong with the pitch ?

This is the exact type of pitch that had me glued to the match.

Why make a flat road that will make everyone fall asleep that would only ensured Australia win the series 2-1 ?

India just bowled badly in the final innings and of course losing Bumrah was a big blow as well.

Test cricket should be reduced to 4 days but have more pitches like these.

I had no problem with the green tinge and seam on offer- that's fine.

My issue was that it started to go up and down with a lot of inconsistent bounce on morning of day 3. That's too early to have that much inconsistent bounce while still seaming. The pendulum went too far to the side of the bowlers too easily- it's got to be a contest.

When no team can score 200 in any of the first 3 innings it's probably a poor pitch. Oz 4th inning India were a bowler down & at stages still could have been rolled for 200.
 
Any pitch where India loses is the best possible pitch for cricket. Thank you Sydney ground staff from saving the world from noise pollution.
 
A team that only survived a 4-1 drubbing because of rain is crying about the pitch? Shameless, deluded fans.
 
Pitch was absolutely fair. Nothing wrong with it. Same pitch for both teams right ? Ind got beaten fair and square. Time for rohit kohli jadeja klrahul to be booted out forever. Hope "BCCI enforces" this asap.
 
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