The International Cricket Council (ICC) rated the Newlands pitch in Cape Town as “unsatisfactory” on Monday, after the second Test between India and South Africa in which neither team scored many runs. The decision was made as part of the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. It came after the shortest-ever Test match, which ended in Cape Town’s Newlands after only 642 balls were played. South Africa was out for 55 runs in the first innings after Mohammed Siraj took 6/15. India, on the other hand, had 153 runs and a 98-run lead, with Rohit Sharma (39), Shubman Gill (36), and Virat Kohli all contributing. India was given a goal of 79 runs in the third innings, even though Aiden Markram hit a brilliant counter-attacking hundred. This was because Jasprit Bumrah took six wickets. They won by seven wickets on the second day.
ICC Match Referee Chris Broad turned in his report, in which he talked about the worries of the match officials. The Newlands pitch in Cape Town was then evaluated and found to be “unsatisfactory.” “The pitch in Newlands was very difficult to bat on,” he said. “During the game, the ball bounced quickly and sometimes scary, which made it hard to play shots.” A lot of hitters got hit in the gloves, and a lot of wickets fell because the ball bounced badly, he said. In the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, a venue gets points taken away if its pitch or outfield is judged to be below standard. A site gets one demerit point if the match referee says the pitches and outfields are not good enough. When a venue gets six demerit points, it can’t play any more international cricket for a year. If you get 12 negative points, you will be jailed for 24 months. For a rolling five-year term, these points are still valid. The ban gives Cricket South Africa 14 days to file an appeal.
