India lost the SCG by six wickets (Source: AP Photos)
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 turned out to be quite an exciting series but Australia were the better team and ended up winning the series by 3-1 margin. It is the first time Australia have got their hands on Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 10 years and in the process they have booked a place in the WTC final as well alongside South Africa.
The series win and a place in the WTC final is courtesy of a win at SCG and though the momentum of the game kept swinging from one team to another, the match finished on the second session of Day 3 which has raised some eyebrows on the nature of the pitch.
A good Test match pitch is generally considered as the one where both batters and bowlers get equal chances of showing their skills. However, the pitch at SCG which is generally good for batting, favoured bowlers more as the batting group from both the team struggled for the majority of time.
SCG Test completed Under 3 Days
The Test match is also expected to go atleast till four days, but with the SCG Test lasting only 2.5 days, it would be interesting to see the ratings from ICC for this pitch. The surface had 7mm of grass which is quite a lot and it shows that it was heavily in favour of pace bowlers, giving home team an extra advantage.
In the past, the pitches in India have been criticised and rated poorly for their short duration and spin-friendly nature. In the recent home season, only one out of the five pitches used for Test matches got 'very good' rating by ICC while all other were included in the Satisfactory category.
In the past too, Indian pitches have come under scanner and have been rated unsatisfactory by ICC. The apex board rates pitches on a scale of very good to unfit and it includes six different categories.
Rating Scale Of Pitches By ICC
| Very Good |
|---|
| Satisfactory |
| Unsatisfactory |
| Below Average |
| Poor |
| Unfit |
Along with the SCG Test, the Pink-Ball Test at the Adelaide Oval was also completed under three days while the MCG and Gabba Test went all the way to the final day. The verdict for pitches is yet to be announced for the BGT, but there were some alarming signs in the SCG Test and all eyes would be on ICC and its ratings for pitches in Australia.
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