‘It was mayhem’: Indore pitch draws flak after spin carnage on Day 1 | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: With a total of 14 wickets falling on Day 1 of the third Test in Indore, the pitch at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, on expected lines drew flak from the former cricketers.
It was a spin bowling carnage as first the hosts first folded for a lowly 109 inside two sessions, getting a taste of their own medicine, and then Australia losing four wickets as the ball turned square and kept low on the opening day itself.
India’s star-studded lineup lasted just 33.2 overs with only Virat Kohli, their top-scorer with 22, facing more than 50 deliveries while Australia played out 54 overs, scoring 156 runs to take a crucial 47-run lead at the close of play.

An uneven contest was clearly visible on the ‘spin bowling paradise’ and that has led to widespread criticism from the former Aussie players.

“It was mayhem,” former Australia Test batsman Mark Waugh said on Fox Sports.
“The pitch was not up to Test standard, I think that’s a fair thing to say.
“Balls going through the top (layer) in the first 20 minutes of a test match, that’s not good enough.”
His former team mate Matthew Hayden said the pitch was overly bias towards the spinners.
“It shouldn’t be a spin bowler’s paradise necessarily, it shouldn’t be keeping low and turning a mile on day one,” he said.

“You’re allowed to have a four or five day test match! Otherwise just call it as it is, we’ll just play three-dayers.”
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg quipped on Twitter: “One day test match anyone?”
The match was moved to Indore only last month following concerns about the newly-laid outfield in the original venue in Dharamsala.
Australia finished the day on top as left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann (5-16) first claiming his first five-wicket while Usman Khawaja scored a resilient 60.
Khawaja would only call the pitch “spin-friendly” and does not expect it to get any better.
“It was spinning in the morning, spinning this afternoon, I think it’s a pretty spin-friendly wicket out there,” the opener told the broadcasters.
“I guess we’ll know tomorrow. It’s always hard to tell (on) day one. If I’m gonna be honest, it felt pretty tough out there the whole time I was out there.
“I don’t expect it to get any better, if I can put it that way.”
(With inputs from Reuters)