The Holkar Stadium pitch in Indore which was used for the 3rd Test match between India and Australia has been rated poor by ICC. This is the first pitch in five years to receive such worst rating from ICC. The last pitch that was rated poor by ICC was Johannesburg in 2018 for the India vs South Africa match.
The Indore Stadium pitch had uneven bounce starting from the day 1 of the 3rd Test between India and Australia. It favoured spinners from the ball 1 and there was a rough on the pitch from the 1st over itself in the game. Usman Khawaja, the Australian batter was asked about the pitch at the end of day 1 and he described the pitch as very difficult to bat on.
ICC has rated Indore Stadium pitch poor which means that the stadium has received three demerit points. If Indore Stadium receives two more demerit points in the ongoing five year cycle then it could be banned from hosting an international cricket match for 12 months.
“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start,” said ICC match referee Chris Board. “The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match.”