Former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed his frustration amidst the controversy surrounding an alleged ‘pitch switch’ forward of the India vs New Zealand semi-final, designed to favor Indian spinners.
Former Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed his frustration amidst the controversy surrounding an alleged ‘pitch switch’ forward of the India vs New Zealand semi-final, designed to favor Indian spinners. Reports urged that the BCCI and the Indian workforce administration, led by coach Rahul Dravid, modified the pitch (No. 7) for the match on the final minute, with out ICC permission, to assist their spinners.
Despite the reported pitch alteration, Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav confronted challenges throughout the match, grappling with the aggressive batting show by the Kiwi gamers whereas defending a goal of 398. Despite their struggles, India secured a 70-run victory, advancing to their fourth World Cup last.
Gavaskar, addressing the controversy, acknowledged, “All those morons who have been talking about pitch change, I hope they just shut up, stop taking potshots at India. Stop talking about pitch change. It was for both teams.”
The report additionally hinted at expectations of a sluggish pitch in Ahmedabad if India reaches the ultimate on the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera. Gavaskar dismissed such hypothesis, saying, “Stop talking nonsense about pitches, some of them have already started about Ahmedabad pitch especially the 2nd Semi hasn’t been completed.”
The pitch (No 6) ultimately chosen for the semifinal was the identical one used for the England-South Africa and the India-Sri Lanka video games on the Wankhede earlier within the event. The ICC clarified that pitch modifications are frequent in a event of this period, and the impartial pitch guide, Andy Atkinson, was conscious of the change and noticed no purpose to consider the pitch would not play nicely.
