India vs England 2021: “ICC should dock India’s points” – Monty Panesar slams Ahmedabad pitch in the third test

India vs England 2021: “ICC should dock India’s points” – Monty Panesar slams Ahmedabad pitch in the third test
India vs England, Ahmadabad, 2021
Action from the third test

The pitch in the third test between India and England continues to give rise to debates and discussions even as the fourth test has already begun. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad saw a turning track being prepared as the ball started to spin right from ball 1. The English batsmen who hadn’t had much experience of playing under such conditions and due to the match being a pink ball test, fell apart like a pack of cards.

The Indian spinners Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin made merry as they picked up 11 and 7 wickets respectively. The English spinners weren’t bad either as Jack Leach and Joe Root picked up 4 and 5 wickets apiece out of the 10 Indian wickets that fell. With the fourth and final test set to be played at the same venue, it remains to be seen what kind of pitch the curators come up with.

Monty Panesar criticizes third test Ahmedabad pitch

Monty Panesar

Former England spinner Monty Panesar spoke to ANI about the Ahmedabad pitch and the fourth test just before it began and said, “I think if the next Test match is the same, then yes, the ICC should dock points. Everyone is delighted that cricket has now got the biggest stadium in the world now. At least the curator should have produced a good wicket, even if it’s a turning wicket, everyone was complaining about Chennai, this was even worse.”

He then stated that each test match should at least go for 3 days saying, “If you are going to produce a turning wicket, at least the match should go for 3-3.5 days. India will probably produce a turning pitch, at least it should last for three days. The Indian people are saying England batsmen cannot play spin very well, if you take that into account, Alistair Cook and Kevin Pietersen have scored runs here, Cook has got a record as good as Matthew Hayden in India. Pietersen did score quickly, do England have that? No, they do not.”

He then talked about the impact of the third test being a pink ball one. “I think ICC will pass on this one, because it was played with a pink ball. To be honest with you, I can believe what the players from both teams are saying. If you bowl it slowly, the pink ball goes quicker of the surface. Let’s see how the red ball reacts, let’s see if India wins again within 3-3.5 days, India’s argument is going to be we can produce spinning tracks but are England batsmen skill levels up to the levels it needs to be?” he signed off..

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