It seems that all is not going well with the BCCI nowadays. As the first Test match between India and Australia in Pune did not go the way Indian fans would have liked it to be.
And now, the Maharashtra Cricket Association has also got a negative for the pitch it prepared for the first Test against Australia.
Yes, the pitch used for the first Test between India and Australia in Pune has been given a “poor” rating by the ICC match referee Chris Broad.
According to the Reports:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could be fined almost 20,000 Australian dollars for producing a “poor” pitch in Pune, where the first Test finished inside three days.
The Test match finished inside three days with Australia securing a 333-run victory.
Australia won the Test match, which ended in the post-tea session of day three, by 333 runs, bowling India out for 105 and 107. India’s match total of 212 runs was their lowest in a home Test in which they had lost all 20 wickets.
The controversial wicket, which was likened to “the surface of Mars” by Shane Warne, provided plenty of assistance for spinners from both Australia and India.
Steve O’Keefe spun the visitors to a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series by claiming a haul 12 wickets for 70, the best ever match figures by a visiting spinner in India.
Local media has alleged that Pune curator Pandurang Salgaoncar was forced to kowtow to BCCI chief curator Daljit Singh. One daily claimed that ground staff at Pune were ordered to doctor the pitch, including the use of metallic brushes to scuff up the dry deck.
IMAGE: Virat Kohli looks on after he is bowled by Steve O’Keefe during the Pune Test match
Photograph: BCCI
Match referee Chris Broad branded the pitch “poor” in his formal report and the BCCI now has 14 days to provide a response to the International Cricket Council, which will then review the matter and has the power to issue a warning or a fine of Australian dollars 19,500.